Length: 8500 mm
Height: 4000 mm
Width: 2800 mm
Weight: 28 tons
Rate of fire: 6 rounds per minute (or 6 rounds in 40-second burst)
Engine: HM-450 450 horsepower truck engine
Armament: 155 mm howitzer
Deployment / redeployment time: 2 minutes
Crew: 5
Top speed: 80 kph
Range: 1000 kilometers
Price: $5,000,000
DPR: 1 billion (gun only)
MAKE ALL ORDERS AND COMMENTARY AT ALLANEAN DEFENSE EXPORTS
Background: As counter-battery radar, long-range drones, and satellite-based artillery spotting becomes more and more common, the ability to ‘shoot and scoot’ – rapidly evacuate an artillery piece after firing a small number of shells with precision – has become key to the survival of artillery crews and even entire units and formations. This has reduced the usefulness of traditional towed artillery, and required its evolution in the form of auxiliary power units directly in artillery pieces, allowing even ostensibly towed artillery to maneuver for short distances to evade counterbattery fire.
However, replacing towed guns with full-weight self-propelled guns poses a challenge form both financial and logistical reasons – full self-propelled howitzers are heavier and more logistically intensive. The solution, for many nations, has been to create an interim weapons system by putting the formerly towed gun on the truck previously used to tow it, creating a self-propelled vehicle that had less of a firepower potential than an armored self-propelled gun, but had a much lower logistics burden compared to an armored SPG and improved tactical and operational mobility compared to a towed gun.
In light of this, Hammond Motors created the Almacia, its newest contribution to the arms market.
Technological overview: The principal armament of the Almacia is the 155 mm cannon. This is equipped with a six-shell autoloader, enabling the shells to be fired rapidly (within a span of 40 seconds). A loading assist device enables the gun to be reloaded manually and fired at a rate of 6 rounds per minute without using the autoloader. A total of 20 shells and propellant charges for them can be stored aboard the vehicle, further ammunition must be brought up separately.
The principal element of the Almacia is the fire-control system, which consists of an Automatic Gun Laying System, a ballistic computer, a SATNAV system, and an inertial navigation system which can allow the gun commander to keep track of the Almacia’s coordinates even in SATNAV-denied environments. Failing this, coordinates can be put in manually.
The system is equipped with two fire control interfaces, one within the driver’s cabin, and the other in the firing position in the rear. The commander enters target coordinates, or confirms target coordinates received from the battle management system (for example, the BASTION system produced by Schwerpunkt). The gun laying and all calculations are done by the machine based on data entered by the commander or received from the BASTION system. The machine also programs any programmable fuze using the Chamber Fuze Interface and then, once the gun commander confirms his order, the gun fires.
Auto-Drive - This is a simple kit fitting to the vehicle’s controls and cabin, with electronic sensors and actuators, enabling the vehicle to operate either with complete or partial autonomy, including “platooning” operations where several vehicles automatically trail one with a human driver. [The exact details may differ based on your nation’s local laws and regulations.] The kit is included in the vehicle’s price and its crew can fit the kit depending on the commander’s instructions.
Personnel Protection: The Almacia’s crew cabin is fully protected against CBRN attacks, as well as shrapnel and small arms fire up to and including .308 API ammunition. Moreover, the vehicle comes with a 7.62 machinegun that can be swivel-mounted on the driver’s hatch. For an additional fee of $100,000, the machinegun can be replaced with an RWS.
However, replacing towed guns with full-weight self-propelled guns poses a challenge form both financial and logistical reasons – full self-propelled howitzers are heavier and more logistically intensive. The solution, for many nations, has been to create an interim weapons system by putting the formerly towed gun on the truck previously used to tow it, creating a self-propelled vehicle that had less of a firepower potential than an armored self-propelled gun, but had a much lower logistics burden compared to an armored SPG and improved tactical and operational mobility compared to a towed gun.
In light of this, Hammond Motors created the Almacia, its newest contribution to the arms market.
Technological overview: The principal armament of the Almacia is the 155 mm cannon. This is equipped with a six-shell autoloader, enabling the shells to be fired rapidly (within a span of 40 seconds). A loading assist device enables the gun to be reloaded manually and fired at a rate of 6 rounds per minute without using the autoloader. A total of 20 shells and propellant charges for them can be stored aboard the vehicle, further ammunition must be brought up separately.
The principal element of the Almacia is the fire-control system, which consists of an Automatic Gun Laying System, a ballistic computer, a SATNAV system, and an inertial navigation system which can allow the gun commander to keep track of the Almacia’s coordinates even in SATNAV-denied environments. Failing this, coordinates can be put in manually.
The system is equipped with two fire control interfaces, one within the driver’s cabin, and the other in the firing position in the rear. The commander enters target coordinates, or confirms target coordinates received from the battle management system (for example, the BASTION system produced by Schwerpunkt). The gun laying and all calculations are done by the machine based on data entered by the commander or received from the BASTION system. The machine also programs any programmable fuze using the Chamber Fuze Interface and then, once the gun commander confirms his order, the gun fires.
Auto-Drive - This is a simple kit fitting to the vehicle’s controls and cabin, with electronic sensors and actuators, enabling the vehicle to operate either with complete or partial autonomy, including “platooning” operations where several vehicles automatically trail one with a human driver. [The exact details may differ based on your nation’s local laws and regulations.] The kit is included in the vehicle’s price and its crew can fit the kit depending on the commander’s instructions.
Personnel Protection: The Almacia’s crew cabin is fully protected against CBRN attacks, as well as shrapnel and small arms fire up to and including .308 API ammunition. Moreover, the vehicle comes with a 7.62 machinegun that can be swivel-mounted on the driver’s hatch. For an additional fee of $100,000, the machinegun can be replaced with an RWS.
MAKE ALL ORDERS AND COMMENTARY AT ALLANEAN DEFENSE EXPORTS
