ASV-12 Non-Line of Sight Self-Propelled Howitzer
- Adversity Technologies -



The ASV-12 was designed to be an advanced, modern self-propelled howitzer to give the technological and logistical advantage back to artillery systems. The ASV-12 fires rocket-assisted and GPS-guided shells designed to have independent guidance and assessment of a combat situation.

The complement of only 2 (commander and driver) testifies to the length of computer systems used to load the howitzer's 155mm rounds. Each round is assessed, targeted, and fired ultimately by the driver, with coordinates obtained by third-party devices or by computer logistics and aiming.

Raw Statblock - ASV-12 NLOS Self-Propelled Howitzer

• Weight: 20 tons
• Length: 11 metres
• Width: 3.5 metres
• Height: 4 metres
• Crew: 2 or 3
  - Commander
  - Driver
  - Optional technician (long operations for manual loading)
• Primary armament: 155mm rifled howitzer w/ 39 caliber
• Secondary armament: 1x 7.7x56mmR (.303 British) flexible-mount machine gun
• Rate of fire: 10 rounds per minute
• Loaded rounds: 30
• Conventional shell range: 30 km
• RGP shell range: 40 km
• Barrel length: 6.025 m
• Armor: 14.55 mm aluminum
• Suspension: Torsion bar
• Operational range: 500 km
• Engine: 558 metric horsepower hybrid-electric
• Max speed:
  - Overall: 50 km/h
  - Terrain: 35 km/h
• Characteristics:
  -Ground clearance: .5 m
  -Max gradient: 60°
  -Vertical obstacle: 0.75 m
  -Trench crossing: 255 cm
  -Fording depth: 1.5 m
• Unit cost: $3.7 million

Howitzer
The 155mm rifled howitzer of the ASV-12 is 7 metres long, and can be rotated 360 degrees on an armored turret, and angled up 60 degrees, or kept in default position for greater forward performance.

The howitzer fires 155mm rocket assisted and GPS-guided shells that actively seek a target and compensate for conditions specified by the environment and the nature of the coordinates as specified by the onboard computer.

Conventional shells can also be fired by the system, without guidance. In this way, the shell may be less accurate in flight, but can be fired with direction by computer operation.

Hybrid-electric engine
The hybrid-electric engine is powered by electric motors which assist in powering an internal combustion engine, in a similar fashion to other HEV engine systems. This design improves both range and fuel economy, allowing the ASV-12 to be logistically self-supported, quieter, and more versatile to a combat environment.

Shells
The ASV-12 can fire both guided and conventional shells depending on the degree of accuracy and risk involved in the target. For more general targets, conventional incendiary and high-explosive HEFRAG shells firing out of a 39-caliber barrel, can fire at calculated angles via computer systems, or aimed and loaded by manual override via interrupted screw.

GPS-guided rocket-assisted projectiles can also be fired. The 39 caliber shells are high-explosive shells that are designed for guided impact and ultimate accuracy. They can be coordinated both in-ASV and in-flight for MRSI, or Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact, wherein calculated shells will hit a specified target accurately and at the same time from multiple arcs and speeds. Up to six rounds can be fired under MRSI capability.

Computer systems
The primary computer systems of the ASV-12 receive and interpret coordinates and data from third-party directions (such as from UAV drones or networked input), or from advanced GPS systems onboard. Other functions include the application of advanced firing procedures that angle and direct the shell to find it's target.

Multiple rounds can also be timed and calculated between each firing (up to 10 rounds per minute) to allow for more accurate and thorough tactical use of the self-propelled howitzer.

Secondary armament
The standard machine gun munition is the 7.7 mm .303 British round, which was used in the machine gun acting as the secondary armament of the ASV-12 system. The machine gun sits on a 360 degree rotating device with added side armor designed to protect the gunner from frontal exchange fire, and allow for more and faster net return fire from the system for close-range defense.

Recoil and breech
The ASV-12 has a weight offset mechanism located at the rear to offset both the weight and the recoil action of the 7m howitzer. The mechanism also sends the force of recoil into the ground rather than in reverse to cause the vehicle to shift. Additionally, slots in the barrel transmit some of the blast outward the front of the howitzer's arm, providing for less recoil action.

The shell of the ASV-12 is fed through a Welin stepped interrupted screw breech, which is fed automatically rather than by a gunner. The 30 rounds are loaded and fired by electric compressor-powered robotic mechanisms which are high-endurance, allowing for a design maximum of 12 rounds a minute, although the set maximum of the ASV-12 is 10 rounds a minute for practicality.

This high-rate of fire design is partly accomplished through computer, but is also accomplished through an innovative design of the loading mechanism, mainly accomplished due to there only being 30 loaded rounds.

Of course, for more enduring missions, a lower rate of fire is possible and more commonly used.

Tracks and range
The system of tracks is located .5 m from the ground, with 80 shoes per track. The track contacts the ground farther to the rear for 350 centimetres. The tracks pivot to provide maximum maneuverability and near instant turning control reaction.

The ASV-12 has a fording depth limit of 1.5 m. Attachments of rubber pads can improve overall speed and traction while fording. The ASV-12 can cross trenches up to 722 cm, and vertical obstacles up to 75 cm.

Armor and survivability
The ASV-12 is protected by armor capable of protecting against 14.5 mm small arms fire, made of a lightweight grade magnesium alloy and assembled by welding, a common armor choice of other self-propelled howitzers. The shaping of the armor is curved along with the body to allow for maximum deflection of small arms fire, the expected encounter of the behind-front-lines ASV-12.

There is an interruption of the moving tracks at the front of the ASV-12, which was meant to provide protection from small-grade explosive devices. An attachable arm can also 'sift' ahead of the ASV-12 to detonate explosive devices before they reach the sensitive tracks of the ASV-12. This attachment point can be removed for maximum maneuverability, and is often only a feature used on straight roads.

Logistics
The ASV-12 can transition from road driving to fire readiness in an estimated 45 seconds, compared to the M109's 60 seconds. This is largely due to computer optimized firing and tracking, as well as consistency. However, the ASV-12 does not compromise on accuracy, given the lesser range of human error due to a mostly computer aiming and firing infrastructure.

The ASV-12 weighs 20 tons, making it optimal for carriage aboard heavy-lift transport aircraft for easier and more mobile delivery. Special attachment points along the sides of the ASV-12 allow it to be more structurally secure aboard such flights.

Fire suppression systems
The onboard fire suppression system is modeled after the Halon fire-suppression system of the M109, which can suppress fires in an estimated quarter of a second. Performance of the ASV-12's fire suppression system is estimated statistically at a mean of similar proportions (.27 of a second vs .25 of a second), and is likely to improve as the data becomes more theoretical after service use.


Cost and operation
With it's automatic equipment, the system cost of the ASV-12 totals around $3.7 million, with an estimated $3.2 million final production cost. The ASV-12's maintenance costs are primarily constructed around the maintenance of the gun turret, and the computer systems, which is optimized to be as infrequent as possible whilst still ensuring safety. Structurally, the ASV-12 has a mean time between failure of 100 hours, and a mean time to repair of 4 hours, being constructed of around 1,400 parts.

Ok, several things.
1. The guided shells. I am assuming you also have normal conventional shells and not just those fancy things. Remember, some times you will really want to threat the eye of a needle. But most of the time you will be taking Sevastopol.

2. The range. I am assuming it is a figure for the guided rocket assisted shells and not for non guided normal ones. You should note that and give data for the normal ones. Also, seriously what other kind of shells can this thing fire? Illumination? HEFRAG? Incendiary? Give us some death here.

3. The crew. You could manage a 2 man crew. But they will be over worked. Remember the operation of your howitzer does not entail just shooting and driving. You need someone to help reload the thing and to run maintenance. And most importantly you will want someone who can fire the thing the old fashioned way in case there is no high tech support. Otherwise you might get outwitted by someone with an old fashioned gun and a pair of binoculars.

4. Can this thing do MRSI (Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact)? Seems not or else you would have mentioned it.

I'll detail more with the shells.

The 2-man crew is going off of the NLOS-C concept of computer-loading. However, I can see how a three man 'normal operations' crew could be in order for endurance over the assumption the computer's going to be performing optimally in long operations.

And as for number 4, it can. That was what I was trying to describe in all but name. I'll state it more explicitly.

The ASV-12 has a weight offset mechanism located at the rear to offset both the weight and the recoil action of the 7m howitzer.

Length: 8 metres.

...Doesn't make much sense there's only 1 meter of space for the guy in turret, autoloader, ammo...etc...

It would benefit from more armor, shell fragments can pierce up to 50mm of RHA. As it stands it would be overly vulnerable to counter fire.

Why is a 155mm gun firing 5" ammo?

if you are goign with 155mm the simpliest thign to do would be to stick to the 52 calibre Joint Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding (JBMOU) standards. Such a system gives you 30km with standard rounds and 35km with base bleed.

Even the slightly more powerful 25l chamber volume 52 calibre guns (i.e. Archer, G6-52) still only gets 30km with unassited ammo.

of coruse such big ass guns are difficult to integrate into a light paltform with the lighest JBMOU compliant 15mm 52 calibre system i've seen is the AGM moutned on the M270 MLRS chassis which comes home at 27-28tons.

A 39cal gun (ala AS-90) or a 38 cal gun (ala NLOS-C) woudl fo course be lighter but sacrafice a fair bit of range i.e. achive about 25km with unassited shells.

Other than just waffle abotut he gun there are soem other points:

The ammo load: 50 roudns is way way too much for such a small vehcile try 20-30.

engine power is also on par with a 50-60ton design, do you really need it?

You dont need to state that a howitzer can fire non-LoS.

Armour is for shell splinters, not small arms, though the effect is the same.

It's rly light. The 20t NLOS-C was a goal, with the actual weight coming out at 27t. And for that it looks very squashed; in NS setting why do you want to give up capability and ease of use for the sake of being air deployable?

You can't have an optional loader. Either it will be designed with enough space for one, and carry one all the time, or it will not.

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"The complement of only 2 (commander and driver) testifies to the length of computer systems used to load the howitzer's 155mm rounds"

"The mechanism also sends the force of recoil into the ground rather than in reverse to cause the vehicle to shift."

"metric horsepower"

"The onboard fire suppression system is modeled after the Halon fire-suppression system of the M109, which can suppress fires in an estimated quarter of a second. Performance of the ASV-12's fire suppression system is estimated statistically at a mean of similar proportions (.277 of a second vs .25 of a second), and is likely to improve as the data becomes more theoretical after service use."

Statements like these really make me think this is some kind of troll.

Also, the pix don't add that much.

That is epic ,If i bothered with sigs I would snatch that.

- Certain howitzers are limited to line of sight.
- The 14.5mm armor is similar in use in other howitzer craft, and it's optimal for lightweight when integrated with a lightweight frame.
- Crew of three.
- Metric horsepower is a real unit
- I was describing statistics there. As the service history continues, values become truer to predicted values of safety because there is more of a population to compare.

Metric Horsepower might be a thing, but it's rather obscure and completely pointless. Use kilowatts.

>indirect fire
>"limited to line of sight"

Whole point of a howitzer is to allow indirect fire. It may be limited to, say, within horizon, but that's not the same.

Yes, you just don't understand why. Also you probably mean resistance to 14.5mm machinegun fire, not a literally 14.5mm thick plate.

Then the NLOS-C size/weight is definitely not possible. That's also not what it says.

Plausible deniability.

Yes. The silliness is having "speed to put out a fire" to 0.001 of a second. And as if all fires will take the same time, or even be possible to put out. This also would not make the values "more theoretical", rather less theoretical.

btw this is a quite specific reference, if this is what I think it is.

39 calibres is the length of the barrel, nothing to do with the shell. if you are using a 39 calibre barrel your barrel length would be 6.025m

It's not silliness as a theoretical value, which is realistically used in statblocks for similar armored vehicles.

Is there any particular armor thickness that would allow logistical aerial delivery?

Maybe this?

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA499411

I have some doubts about 14.5mm fire protection in a 20 ton vehicle. On the other hand actual 14.5mm plate would be no problem.

Accuracy of more than one digit or a single-digit fraction (0.25=1/4) is just silly for anything like fire suppression systems.

I don't know that I specified 14.5mm fire protection. I'm considering the lightweight magnesium alloy as the lightweight armor choice.

Hmm, interesting choice in armor.