FEB 12, 2004
Bang on target
SAF's new artillery guns prove a big hit in NZ live-firing exercise, but it took 2 1/2 years of tests and 2,000 shells to get them there
By David Boey
THE army's newest artillery guns went into action for the first time this week with a battalion of gunners in a live-firing exercise in New Zealand.
But before full-time national servicemen from the 21st Battalion Singapore Artillery (21 SA) fired the six Primus 155mm self-propelled howitzer guns, the weapon had to be put through stringent tests to prove that it would be bang on target.
It was driven across 5,000km of terrain, from desert ground and steep slopes in South Africa to muddy tracks near Pasir Laba Camp here to test its durability. More than 2,000 shells were also fired over 2 1/2 years.
The big guns proved their worth this week in Exercise Thunder Warrior at New Zealand's Waiouru live-firing range.
Looking more like a tank, as it moves on tracks and has its gun mounted in an armoured turret, Primus is the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) first self-propelled heavy artillery gun.
It was developed jointly by a team from the SAF, the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA), the national authority on military procurements, and Singapore Technologies Kinetics, a local weapons company.
DSTA programme manager for the Primus, Mr Koh Weng Kin, 43, said they had to convince the SAF that the new design worked, could endure the rigours of the battlefield, would not pose a maintenance nightmare and, most importantly, was safe to fire.
After ditching the idea to mount the big gun on the modified chassis of existing armoured vehicles, as these would end up being too heavy for use on local terrain, the team came up with a prototype vehicle in April 2000.
Having only one prototype meant that every problem, no matter how small, had to be identified and solved, sometimes using computer simulations, before proceeding to field testing.
Things did not always go as planned, especially when the first shells were fired, said Mr Koh.
'We came back with a long list of failures and had to change the design of some components.'
Captain Dinesh Vasu Dash, 29, weapons staff officer from Headquarters Artillery, explained that changes had to be made to the components used in a motor-driven conveyor system which moves 22 shells, each weighing more than 40kg, from their storage racks into the gun.
Size also mattered. As the SAF wanted the vehicle to be about 3m wide, the team had to size the components as small as possible to fit the turret. 'But from the third firing onward, it was smooth sailing,' said Mr Koh.
In between firing trials, the 28.3-tonne vehicle was put through some mundane tasks.
'We filled up the fuel tank to the brim and ran it until it was dry to see how many kilometres we could achieve.'
The trials took place in a vast, arid desert range in South Africa, where summer temperatures soared past 40 deg C, sapping the endurance of engineers. When winter arrived, sub-zero temperatures were common.
Said Mr Koh: 'We spent a lot of money flying the gun out so we wanted to maximise the time there. We made sure the mechanical systems did not crack under the firing stress.'
As the gun was new, more than 1,700 rounds were fired without anyone in the vehicle's turret for safety reasons. The engineers attached a long rope to the firing lever in the turret, yanking it from a safe distance outside the turret to fire the gun.
It was a big day for the team, when a crew was finally allowed in the turret to fire the gun, said Mr Koh. 'It was people from ST Kinetics and DSTA inside... It showed we were almost there.'
Another 300 rounds were fired by the engineers before the weapon was introduced to Singapore Artillery gunners. In September 2002, the Primus prototype was officially certified to have met SAF requirements.
Said Staff Sergeant Dorairaj, 27, a battery sergeant major with the 21 SA: 'The gun's maker had its general manager go inside to fire first.
'He came out alive, so that boosted our confidence,' he added with a laugh.
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FEB 12, 2004
NSF gunners helped tweak weapon
ENGINEERS and defence scientists may have developed the Primus, but its users, including artillery gunners in their late teens, had a say in how it would be deployed.
In fact, gunners from the 21st Battalion Singapore Artillery, the first unit armed with the Primus, helped change some 30 per cent of procedures for using the weapon.
Captain Helen Ang, 30, a battery commander with the unit, said her gunners helped weed out procedures that could be done better while being trained to use the self-propelled guns.
Most suggestions were offered by full-time national servicemen (NSF) in their late teens.
She said: 'NSF input is very important as they are the people on the ground who know whether things can be executed or not. As different batteries went out for exercise, we came back for after-action reviews. From there, we put up suggestions that helped revise the training manuals.'
For instance, gunners proposed changing the positions at which they stood in the gun turret so the loading process could be less cumbersome.
Having an armoured heavy artillery gun which can move about at speeds of 50km/h and fire a burst of three shells in about 20 seconds has spurred a mindset change among gunners on how the weapon can best be used.
Captain Dinesh Vasu Dash, 29, a weapons staff officer from Headquarters Artillery, said the development of the weapon took place alongside efforts to draw up a training programme and methods for using it during wartime.
On the weapon's impact on tactics, he explained: 'It opened up new tactics, training and procedures that we have incorporated into our system, like the shoot-and-scoot tactic.'
The gun's unique fire control computers and navigation equipment allow it to dash out from cover, aim and fire three rounds in about 20 seconds, then race to a new hiding place before enemy guns can respond - a tactic big guns towed behind trucks cannot match.
Added Capt Vasu Dash: 'This gave us insights into a new method of operation, having to decentralise our batteries so a gunner can make decisions on the battlefield on his own and achieve the mission on his own, rather than the traditional view of the gunner as a muscleman who lugs and chucks rounds from one point to another.'
PRIMUS
„h Width: 3m
„h Weight: 28.3 tonnes
„h Gun calibre: 155mm, 39 calibre
„h Gun range: 30km
