PRETORIA, South Africa, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Denel Land Systems of South Africa reports it has developed an artillery piece that can directly fire three shells through the same hole from half a mile away.
The artillery piece can also deliver half of its projectiles within the size of a soccer field from a distance of about 18.6 miles.
"This remarkable degree of accuracy was achieved when the latest version of DLS's 105mm Stryker was recently tested at the Alkantpan testing range in the Northern Cape," the company said. "The Stryker LAV III LSPH (Light Self-propelled Howitzer) differs from previous versions in that it can now be serviced by a crew rather than being remotely fired."
DLS Chief Executive Officer Stephan Burger said the firing tests were witnessed by members of the South African defense community.
Research and development work on the system started in the 1990s when a Denel/Armscor project team was asked to produce 155mm, 39-caliber artillery range, accuracy and lethality from a 105mm system. The end product was an artillery piece with the weight of a 105mm howitzer but with the range and terminal performance of a 155mm system.
The latest version tested at Alkantpan has a crew of three, weighs 40,124 pounds with 36 rounds on board and is air transportable on a C-130 aircraft.
During the firings, error margins of less than 0.3 percent of range were consistently achieved at maximum range.
The 105mm Stryker is a joint project between DLS, General Dynamic Systems and Rheinmetall Denel Munitions, a subsidiary of Denel.
