The G7 is a South African

105 mm 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

howitzer, produced by

Denel Land Systems Denel Land Systems is a division of the Denel group. ) , type = , traded_as = , ISIN = , industry = Armanents Manufacturing , genre = , predecessor = , founded = , founder = , defunct = , fate = , successor = , hq_location ...

(DLS). With a maximum range of it outranges all existing 105 mm howitzers, as well as most current 155 mm howitzers (Denel's own 155's not included). During development, it was known as the ''Light Experimental Ordnance'' (LEO), with the G7 label being chosen later to fit in with Denel's two existing howitzer products, the G5 towed 155 mm howitzer and the G6 self-propelled 155 mm howitzer.

Potential customers

In 2004, DLS partnered with

General Dynamics Land Systems General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) is a manufacturer of military vehicles such as tanks and lighter armored fighting vehicles. History In February 1982 Chrysler announced the sale of Chrysler Defense, its profitable defense subsidiary, to Gen ...

(GDLS) to offer the gun in self-propelled form to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. GDLS provided an armoured vehicle (the

LAV III The LAV III, originally named the Kodiak by the Canadian Army, is the third generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, base ...

), while Denel provided a G7 mounted inside a specially-designed, unmanned turret. The combined system weighs only 17.5 tons when fully loaded with ammunition, making it light enough to be transportable inside a

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally des ...

transport aircraft. The combination took part in a number of tests for the US Army. Though currently unfunded, the US Army has indicated a requirement for such a system to equip its

Stryker The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It ...

Brigade. The Strykers cannot use current self-propelled and towed howitzers as their weight is a limiting factor on the brigade's mobility. Interest in the system has also been exhibited by the militaries of South Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. In addition, the

(USA) and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

(USMC) have exhibited interest in the towed version as a possible replacement for their towed 105 mm howitzer stocks. In parallel with the G7's testing on the LAV-III Denel is also planning to fit it and its turret to a

Rooikat The Rooikat (Afrikaans for "Caracal"; ) is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. The Rooikat's main armament was built with the ...

armoured vehicle for its offer to the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

AMLAGC

In April 2007, it was reported that Armscor, the South African defence procurements agency, was about to award Denel a contract to develop a more advanced version of the G7, to be dubbed the Advanced Multirole Light Artillery Gun Capability (AMLAGC). Under the proposed contract, the G7 would see a "significant increase" in capability, including a weight reduction to 2,500 kg or less and the development of V-LAP ammunition to boost the range to 36 km.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 105 mm artillery Field artillery Post–Cold War artillery of South Africa Denel

Potential customers

AMLAGC

See also

References

External links