page_title: Self-propelled artillery
section_title: Howitzers and guns
hierarchical_section_title: Self-propelled artillery / Howitzers and guns
caption_attribution_description: A Swedish Bandkanon 1 155 mm self-propelled howitzer outside the military history museum in Boden.
context_page_description: Self-propelled artillery is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move towards its target. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and rocket artillery. They are high mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun, howitzer, mortar, or some form of rocket/missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range indirect bombardment support on the battlefield.
  In the past, self-propelled artillery has included direct-fire vehicles, such as assault guns and tank destroyers. These have been heavily armoured vehicles, the former providing close fire-support for infantry and the latter acting as specialized anti-tank vehicles.
  Modern self-propelled artillery vehicles may superficially resemble tanks, but they are generally lightly armoured, too lightly to survive in direct-fire combat. However, they protect their crews against shrapnel and small arms and are therefore usually included as armoured fighting vehicles. Many are equipped with machine guns for defense against enemy infantry.
context_section_description: Self-propelled artillery remains important in the equipment of many modern armies. It saw a significant role throughout the Cold War era conflicts and in the recent Gulf Wars.
  Modern SP artillery is highly computerized with the ability to self survey firing positions using systems such as GPS and inertial navigation systems. This, in conjunction with digital fire control/ballistic computers and digital communications, allows individual guns to disperse over a wide area and still deliver rounds on target simultaneously with the other guns in their battery.
  These capabilities also increase survivability many fold as modern SP artillery can displace and avoid counterbattery fire much more quickly and effectively and, if desired, more frequently than previously possible. In conjunction with modern logistic systems (where the SP gun's systems can track and report on ammunition consumption and levels) with similar navigation systems and palletized load dropping/lifting capabilities mean that the rapid displacement can occur without significant disruption to actually firing missions as it is possible for the ammunition to keep up with the guns.
  A modern battery of six guns, each firing 43 kg projectiles with a burst firing speed of four rounds per minute, can deliver over a metric tonne of ordnance per minute for up to four minutes. This is an immense weight of fire, which can be delivered with very high accuracy.
  One example of the increased firepower provided by modern mobile howitzers is the latest version, the G6-52, of the 155 mm G6 howitzer. It can fire up to six rounds in quick succession that will land nearly simultaneously. This is achieved by firing the shells at different trajectories so that the first round has the longest flight time and the last round the shortest. This is an improvement of the concept of MRSI (Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact), itself an enhancement of the earlier TOT (Time On Target) concept. The necessary rapid reloading is made possible by an automated ammunition feed system.
caption: A Swedish Bandkanon 1
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