R.A. Flannagan Writing

Some great pics.

Interesting!

A good map for the World Cup. Make sense of the area your team is playing at by seeing how the region compares to global climate zone benchmarks. HT

Great info!

The Canadian Army is currently staring down an $80-billion hardware hurdle, with a $5.1-billion project aimed at replacing its vulnerable, towed M777 guns with a new "Heavy Hammer".

The Indirect Fires Modernization (IFM) program seeks up to 98 high-mobility self-propelled howitzers to rebuild a heavy division-level fire capability that hasn't existed in this country for decades.

The competition has narrowed to two distinct philosophies: the tracked, battle-hardened reliability of South Korea’s K9 Thunder and the high-speed wheeled innovation of Germany’s RCH 155.

The K9 Thunder is currently the global heavyweight champion of the artillery market, with over 1,800 units in service across nine countries.

It features a 52-calibre barrel that can reach out to 54 kilometres, but its real party trick is a "burst" mode that fires three rounds in just 15 seconds.

For context, the M109A7 Paladin used by the U.S. Army is a legendary workhorse, but it’s still lugging around a shorter 39-calibre barrel that limits its range to about 30 kilometres with standard rocket-assisted shells.

While the Paladin is hampered by a manual loading process that manages about one round per minute sustained, the German RCH 155 is a fully automated robot on wheels.

The RCH 155 can actually fire its 155mm gun while moving at high speeds, a unique "fire-on-the-move" capability that makes it almost impossible for enemy radar to pin down.

Both contenders offer far superior mobility to the Paladin's 61 km/h top speed, with the wheeled Boxer-based RCH 155 capable of screaming down highways at over 100 km/h.

Hanwha is pitching a "Made-in-Canada" assembly plan for the K9, while the RCH 155 team is leveraging existing supply lines for the LAV 6.0 already built in Ontario.

Whichever platform wins, the goal is to have the first batteries delivered by 2029 to ensure the army can finally hit hard and get out of the way fast.



(Source: Canadian Army Today, European Security & Defence, KNDS Group)