The new Nemesis self-propelled artillery: the return of an old concept at a modern level

 

Nemesis

In 2004, the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (now KNDS Germany) introduced the artillery combat module Artillery-Geschütz-Modul (AGM). It was a turret with a 155 mm howitzer and other equipment, which was proposed to be mounted on different chassis. It was assumed that the AGM would be of interest to customers, and new self-propelled guns would be created on its basis. In 2008, a new self-propelled gun Donar was shown at one of the European exhibitions. It was built on the basis of the ASCOD 2 tracked chassis from the Spanish company Santa Bárbara Sistemas (now General Dynamics European Land Systems) and equipped with an AGM module. The self-propelled gun "Donar" was repeatedly shown at various exhibitions, and it attracted attention. However, it was not possible to find customers for such equipment. KMW / KNDS Germany has started developing other versions of self-propelled guns based on a unified module. To date, several similar samples have been presented, and the last one was shown just the other day.

On May 12-14, the international military technical exhibition FEINDEF 2025 was held in Madrid, Spain. KNDS Germany and GDELS presented their new joint development, the Nemesis self—propelled artillery gun. In terms of overall appearance, architecture, and the choice of key components, the promising Nemesis product is not fundamentally different from the old Donar. At the same time, this project uses updated chassis and combat module, as well as a number of other modern systems. It is assumed that this will make it possible to more fully utilize the technical potential of the combat vehicle and obtain improved combat characteristics.

The developers of the new ACS do not deny some continuity with the previous project, but note that the two self-propelled guns are in different conditions. So, the Donar project could not interest customers, because in his time not enough attention was paid to the development of artillery. The situation has changed in recent years, and the armies of different countries are once again willing to rearm their artillery units. In the current situation, the two companies decided to return to the old concept, implement it at a modern technical level and offer it to customers again.

It should be noted that the development of a new ACS required some effort. In accordance with the updated requirements, the existing chassis had to be redesigned, the combat module improved, and other measures taken. However, by now the two companies have successfully completed the design and built the first prototype. The prototype of the Nemesis ACS will be sent for testing in the near future. Details of the existing plans have not yet been announced. It is unknown how soon the experienced self-propelled gun will make its first shots and show fire characteristics. However, it is clear that the entire test cycle may take several years. The commercial prospects are also unclear. According to some reports, GDELS offered Nemesis to the Spanish Ministry of Defense. The agency is currently considering the possibility of updating the fleet of self-propelled artillery and replacing the existing M109SP self-propelled guns. So far, it cannot be ruled out that they will purchase the new Nemesis.

The overall architecture of the new Nemesis ACS is quite simple and unchanged from the old Donar project. The combat vehicle is built on the ASCOD 2 tracked chassis, modified to meet specific requirements. The AGM module in its modern version is mounted in the aft part of the chassis. The length of the ACS with the forward cannon exceeds 10 m, the width and height are about 3 m. The combat weight has reached 40 tons. For comparison, the Donar machine had similar dimensions, but weighed about 35 tons. The weight gain is mainly due to increased protection.

The chassis of the new ACS has an armored hull with a bulky cabin in the bow. The habitable compartment is protected from bullets and shrapnel. It is also possible to install additional protection against more serious threats. At the same time, level 4 is achieved according to the STANAG 4569 standard.