Donar 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer (Germany / United States)
Channel: Main Battle Tank
Date: 2023-01-14

The Donar 155 mm self-propelled howitzer was jointly developed by Kraus-Maffei Wegmann and General Dynamics. It was revealed in 2008. This artillery system is named after Germanic pagan god of thunder. His more well-known Scandinavian name is Thor. This artillery system was designed as faster, lighter, more powerful and more efficient artillery system than the PzH 2000 SPH. The Donar is a further development of the Artillery Gun Module (AGM). The Donar has already completed a series of trials. Unlike the AGM this new system is aimed at the export market.

The Donar is fitted with rotating turret, armed with a 155 mm/L52  howitzer, fitted with a fully-automatic ammunition loading and handling system. This SPH is fitted with new automatic breech-block drive. Vehicle has a crew of only two men. It has similar performance to the PzH 2000, however it significantly lighter and is cheaper to build. Ammunition load of the Donar was reduced to 30 rounds. Maximum range of fire depends on projectile and charge combination. It is 30 km with standard and 40 km with base bleed projectile. Using a South African VLAP rocket-assisted projectile a range of 56 km can be achieved. Maximum rate of fire is 6 rounds per minute, however this might be increased to 8 in production systems.

The Donar is capable of Multiple Round Simultaneous Impact (MRSI) firing. This artillery system can fire four rounds that hit one target simultaneously. Vehicle is fitted with modern fire control system.

Prototype of the Donar lacks defensive weapons, however It is claimed that production variant will be fitted with secondary armament.

Armored crew cabin provides protection against small arms fire and artillery shell splinters. Protection can be enhanced by add-on armor kit. Mine protection kit is optional. Vehicle is fitted with NBC protection and automatic fire suppression systems.

This artillery system uses modified chassis of the General Dynamics ASCOD 2 IFV. Vehicle is fitted with an MTU diesel engine, developing 720 hp and auxiliary power unit. This artillery system can be airlifted by the Airbus A400M, however it is too large for current C-130 Hercules and TRANSALL C-160.

The AGM turret can be mounted on a variety of wheeled and tracked vehicles. There is another RCH 155 self-propelled howitzer, which is a combination of Boxer 8x8 armored personnel carrier and AGM unmanned turret. This turret can be even used as a stationary stand-alone unit for defense of forward operating bases.