Paladin PIM deliveries to the US Army begin
Daniel Wasserbly, Washington, DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
09 April 2015
BAE Systems' first seven Paladin PIM prototypes - one of which is pictured here - were delivered to the army in May 2011. Upgrades and design changes have since added capability but pushed production out until recently. Source: BAE Systems
The US Army has begun receiving its first production-model M109A7 Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and held a ceremony on 9 April to mark the new system's arrival.
The army and prime contractor BAE Systems are in the process of finalising a low-rate initial production (LRIP) plan that is expected to include 66 vehicle sets (
a set is one SPH and one M992A3 Carrier Ammunition Tracked vehicle) plus an extra SPH for testing, Mark Signorelli, BAE Systems' vice-president and general manager of combat vehicles, told
IHS Jane's on 8 April.
The army could buy as many as 580 sets, but the actual procurement quantity could be slightly lower and depends on funding.
For fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016) the service requested Paladin PIM programme funding to support final developmental testing with USD152.3 million and to buy 30 PIM LRIP systems with USD273.9 million. Signorelli said a full-rate production decision is expected in February 2017 after qualification and reliability testing is completed, and following an operational test slated for the second half of 2016.
PIM is to replace the legacy M109A6 Paladin howitzers and M992A2 ammunition carriers with a more advanced system, while incorporating drive train and suspension components common to the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
The programme was approved to begin initial production in October 2014 following an extended testing period after the first seven prototypes were delivered in 2011.
Signorelli described those prototypes as "generation one" and noted that several upgrades and capabilities were added to change the configuration over time, including new armour designs for heightened protection and design changes around the gun drives and rammer. "Very few of them were individually significant," he said, although the changes took time and added testing qualifications.
The PIM retains the legacy 155 mm Paladin's cannon, but it is fitted on a new chassis based on the Bradley. The two vehicles share a 600 hp Cummins V903 diesel engine, a suspension, and other components.
Aside from the chassis, the PIM models also have a new electric ramming system and a 600 V on-board power system that builds on technologies developed during the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C) programme and is intended to ensure the PIM will have enough space, weight, and power-cooling growth potential for future upgrades.