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Land Systems / Battlefield

ST Kinetics FH-2000

155mm Towed Howitzer [ 1993 ]

In limited service, the Singaporean 155mm FH-2000 is a powerful modern towed artillery piece and a further development of the existing FH-88 system.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/06/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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The Singapore Army adopted the FH-2000 155mm towed field howitzer system in 1993. The product was developed locally by ST Kinetics beginning in 1990 and has been manufactured under the company brand label since 1993. The FH-2000 was influenced some by ST Kinetics earlier attempt at a 155mm caliber system, the FH-88 (detailed elsewhere on this site), which entered service in 1988 and went on to find customers in the both the Singapore Army as well as the Indonesian Army. The FH-88 marked the first indigenous 155mm weapon to be designed, developed, and produced by the nation of Singapore.

The newer FH-2000 first appeared in pilot (prototype) form in 1991 and was test-fired at New Zealand grounds until certified for service in late 1993. The FH-2000 was given a longer barrel of 52 calibers and an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) was added to power the weapon across short distances (reducing crew reliance on a mover vehicle in the hear-of-battle). This APU system became a rather conventional diesel-fueled, air-cooled engine offering speeds of 6.2 miles per hour. The operating crew numbers six and is made of specialists with certain roles to play in the proper function of the gun.

Overall weight of the weapon system is 29,100lb while its length is 42.3 feet and the barrel measures 26.4 feet long. The barrel and breech system are cleared to fire all recognized NATO projectiles of 155mm caliber which is heavily favored by Western powers like the United States and Britain. The breech is operated through a semi-automatic action and features an interrupted screw design with a power-assisted rammer to speed up reload times. The carriage unit has four rubber-tired road wheels set across two axles. The gun tube's mounting hardware offers an elevation span of -3 to +70 degrees and can pivot the gun tube +/- 20 degrees from centerline. A trained crew can fire up to six rounds-per-minute sustained for up to three minutes or two rounds-per-minute for up to thirty minutes sustained. Effective range is out to 12 miles when using standard ammunition types though rocket-assisted projectiles increase the weapon's reach as far out as 25 miles.

Quantitative numbers of the FH-2000 system in Singapore Army service was reached in 1995. It has since been taken on by only one other foreign power - this, again, being the nation of Indonesia.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

BASICS [+] MANUFACTURER(S) [+] OPERATORS [+] ROLES [+] DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS [+] POWER & PERFORMANCE [+] ARMAMENT [+] AMMUNITION [+] VARIANTS [+] HONORS [+]

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