• M777 Howitzer Technical Manual Pdf

May 19, 2017 - India received first two M777 Howitzers from U.S. Based company BAE. After three decades of Bofors Scandal, Indian Army will get these.

M777 Light Towed Howitzer in service with the in Support of, Afghanistan Type Place of origin United Kingdom Service history In service 2005–present Used by see ' Wars Specifications Weight 4,200 kg (9,300 lb) Length Combat: 10.7 m (35 ft 1 in) Travel: 9.5 m (31 ft 2 in) length 5.08 m (16.7 ft) Crew 7+1, ERFB, 155 mm (6.1 in) Carriage 0° to +71.7° Normal: 2 rpm Maximum: 5 rpm Effective firing range: 24 km (14.9 mi) ERFB: 30 km (18.6 mi): 40 km (25 mi) The M777 is a towed piece. It succeeded the in the and in 2005. The M777 is also used by the ground forces of, and. It made its combat debut in the. The M777 is manufactured by ' division. Prime contract management is based in in the United Kingdom as well as manufacture and assembly of the titanium structures and associated recoil components. Final integration and testing of the weapon is undertaken at BAE's facility in.

US Marine gunners test fire an M777 howitzer. The M777 began as the Ultralight-weight Field Howitzer (UFH), developed by 's armaments division in Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom. This company was bought by BAE Systems which ended up responsible for design, construction and assembly through its US-based, BAE Systems Land and Armaments group. The M777 uses about 70% US-built parts including the gun barrel manufactured at the.

With a weight of 4,200 kg (9,300 lb), the M777 is 41% lighter than the 7,154 kg (15,772 lb) M198 howitzer it replaces. Much of the weight reduction is due to the extensive use of. The M777 can be transported by helicopter, such as the, or towed by air-braked vehicles weighing over 2.5 tonnes (2.8 short tons), such as the and.

The minimal gun crew required is five, compared to a previous nine. The M777 uses a digital similar to that found on self-propelled howitzers such as the to provide navigation, pointing and self-location, allowing it to be put into action quickly. The Canadian M777 in conjunction with the traditional 'glass and iron sights/mounts' also uses a digital fire control system called the Digital Gun Management System (DGMS) produced by with components of the Indirect Fire Control Software Suite (IFCSS) built by the Firepower team in the Canadian Army Land Software Engineering Centre. The portion of the system, known as LINAPS, had been proven previously through earlier fielding on the Royal Artillery's. The Digital Fire Control System will be powered by a unique new design of rotary hybrid-electric engine designed and manufactured by Liquid Piston.

The M777 may be combined with the GPS-guided munition, which allows accurate fire at a range of up to 40 km (25 mi). This almost doubles the area covered by a single battery to about 1,250 km 2 (480 sq mi). Testing at the by the US Army placed 13 of 14 Excalibur rounds, fired from up to 24 kilometres (15 mi), within 10 m (33 ft) of their target, suggesting a of 5 m (16 ft). In June 2012, Golf Battery, out of Camp Pendleton, California, dropped the M982 Excalibur round on insurgents at a range of 36 km (22 mi) in. This marked the longest operational shot in the history of the M777 howitzer, and the longest operational artillery shot in history for the Marine Corps.

In 2014 the US military began fielding several upgrades to its M777 howitzers including new units, software updates, improved power systems, and muzzle sensors for onboard ballistic computing. Future upgrades include a touchscreen Chief Section Display, a new Mission System Computer, and a digital radio. In May 2017, the U.S.

Army revealed it was buying the Swedish round as an interim system as a result of the required phasing out of from artillery shells, complying with policy to achieve less than 1% from non-unitary explosives; the BONUS has two sensor-fused munitions deployed by a 155 mm carrier projectile that scan the ground for targets and fire down from the air. The system has been tested from the M777 howitzer. M777A2 vs legacy M198 M777A2 M198 Weight 4,200 kg (9,300 lb) 7,154 kg (15,772 lb) Emplacement time 2 min 10 s 6 min 35 s Displacement time 2 min 23 s 10 min 40 s Number carried per C-130 Load 2 1 Variants.

M777 – gun with optical fire control. M777A1 – digitization upgrades with the addition of an on-board power source, satellite global positioning, inertial navigation, radio, Gun Display Unit (GDU) and Section Chief Assembly (SCA). M777A2 – Block 1A software upgrade. Addition of an Enhanced Portable Inductive Artillery Fuze Setter (EPIAFS) to enable and precision munition compatibility. M777ER – Experimental upgrade created by the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) project modified with a 52-caliber barrel, adding 1.8 m (5.9 ft) to the cannon and less than 450 kilograms (990 lb) to the overall system, extending range from 30 to 70 km (19 to 43 mi); concept only.

Service history. Marines fire an M777A2 155 mm howitzer United States Army The (Airborne) at, North Carolina was the initial Army test bed unit for the XM777 which included the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the. 2nd Platoon, Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, (2-11 FA) was the first US Army unit to fire the M777A in combat on 2 January 2008 in support of. In June 2007, the M777 in its A2 configuration was assigned to the U.S. Army's 3-321 FA.

It deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in December 2007 in January 2008 making the unit the first U.S. Army unit to utilise the M777 in combat in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In April 2008, the M777 was deployed for testing with at in. On 20 July 2008, at, Mississippi, became the first field artillery unit of the to field and fire the M777. Two soldiers from were killed from a breech explosion and other members of their gun crew were injured while attempting to fire a M777 at an ISIS mortar position in Northern Iraq. Multiple firing incidents have occurred during training with the M777 including a fatal one in February 2014 with 3-321 FA and previously in 2011 with Marines from also at Fort Bragg. Marine Corps In May 2005, based at, became the first Marine unit to begin fielding the new M777.

Five hundred and eighty systems will be supplied to the Marines, and 421 to the U.S. Army and National Guard. In March 2016, 200 Marines and four M777A2 howitzers from the set up, officially the Karasoar Counterfire Complex, near the Iraqi town of, supporting the 's. The firebase is only 15 miles (24 km) from -controlled territory, and one Marine was killed in a rocket attack on 19 March, just days after arriving; direct attacks on the base dropped off in the following weeks as the Iraqis captured surrounding villages. The Marine howitzers fire every day in support of Iraqi maneuvers, using high explosive, smoke, and illumination rounds. They were relieved by Army soldiers after roughly 60 days, after firing more than 2,000 rounds in 486 fire missions. In March 2017, the was deployed to Syria to provide artillery support with their M777s for forces seeking to eject ISIL forces from.

Australia. Australian soldiers firing a M777A2 during a training exercise in 2016 In 2008, the Australian Defence Force made a US request for 57 M777A2s worth an estimated US$248m. Subsequently, 35 guns were purchased for the Australian Army to re-equip the; and the; replacing 155 mm M198s and 105 mm.

The first deliveries of M777A2 began in late 2010. An additional 19 guns will be bought directly from American production lines to enable a total of six batteries.

Concurrently, the Australian Army has acquired guided 155 mm munitions in the form of the and. Brazil In 2010, The evaluated the 155 mm M777 as a candidate to replace the six 155 mm howitzers of the branch. The successor to the M114 has not yet been chosen. Canada In December 2005, 1st Regiment, conducted an inaugural firing of its first 155 mm M777 towed howitzers, for a total of six guns.

The six guns delivered were supplied by the United States Marine Corps under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract between the U.S. The Canadian guns were first fired by A Battery, 1 RCHA at CFB Shilo and then were deployed to Afghanistan in support of, and were put into service in the Canadian theatre of operations around in early 2006, this marked the first use of the M777 in Combat operations.

In the summer they made a significant contribution during the when a small number of rounds were used to huge effect on elements retreating from the battle area. Many of the 72 reported killed during the heaviest period of fighting were due to artillery fire from only two of these guns. In late fall of 2006, the Canadian M777 Howitzers were equipped with the Digital Gun Management System (DGMS), which greatly improved accuracy and led to these guns being used for Short Range Close Support of Canadian and US ground forces. They proved so successful that an order for an additional six guns was placed with BAE. In May 2009, the Canadian government ordered a further 25 M777s, bringing the total to 37.

The DGMS is also being improved with integrated communications. Colombia BAE is offering M777 howitzers to the, along with self-propelled guns, for their artillery contest. The initial purchase is for 12 units, which may be raised to 25 units.

A decision among five companies will be made in 2014. India The has also announced plans to acquire 145 guns for ₹30 billion (US$418 million), but purchase plans were overtaken when the procurement process was restarted in July 2010. India's cleared the proposal for buying 145 guns for US$660 million on 11 May 2012 through the US Government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process.

This was put up before the for clearance and will subsequently be taken up by the for final approval. On 2 August 2013, India requested the sale of 145 M777 howitzers for US$885 million.

On 24 February 2014 the purchase was again postponed. On 11 May 2014 the purchase was cleared by India's Defence ministry. On 11 July 2014, the Government of India announced that it would not order the guns because of cost issues. On 22 November 2014, the selection process was restarted under the ' program. On 13 May 2015, The defence ministry approved ₹2,900 crore to buy 145 M777 ultralight howitzers from the US. On 15 December 2015, the Indian Ministry of Defence said it was keen on placing a follow-up order of 500 more M777 guns.

On 26 June 2016, it was announced that 145 guns will be purchased by India for US$750 million. On 30 November 2016 Indian government completed the deal to buy 145 howitzers from the US. The deal was completed in December 2016. Indian Army received 1st batch of two M777 howitzers on 18 May 2017. India received its first shipment comprising two howitzers on 18 May 2017 in New Delhi from United States in ready to use condition.

It was reported that on 2 September 2017, the barrel of one of the howitzers was damaged while firing locally made ammunition during calibration trials. Saudi Arabia In 2011, ordered 36 M777A2 155 mm towed howitzers from the United States, along with 17,136 rounds of high explosive (HE) ammunition and 2,304 rounds of longer range rocket assisted projectiles (RAPs). The Saudis have purchased vehicles to tow the gunshaul ammunition, and carry the crews and their gear. However, they did not order any GPS-guided 155 mm Excalibur shells for their M777A2 guns.

Combat history. Operators. Map of M777 operators in blue Current operators.: 70.: 54 systems.: 37 systems.: 1,001 systems, 580 for the Marine Corps and 421 for the Army and, have been ordered.

Both the US Army and Marine Corps field a 'pure fleet' of M777A2 variants.: 145 guns for the Indian Army. Deal finalised via a Government to Government contract. Twenty five guns to be delivered by mid-2017 and rest of them will be built under the 'Make in India' banner. Potential operators.: On 5 May 2016, BAE Systems confirmed that it is working with Emirates Defense Technology (EDT) to develop a self-propelled version of the M777 howitzer for the.

M777 Howitzer Technical Manual Pdf

BAE Systems believe they have substantial opportunity to sell the M777 to Chile, Denmark, Italy, and Portugal. Gallery.