AHEAD ammunition

AHEAD ammunition is an acronym for "Advanced Hit Efficiency And Destruction" ammunition.[1] The 35mm variety produced by Oerlikon Contraves splits each projectile into 152 submunitions "that form a cone-shaped pattern to destroy a target's control surfaces and.. other vital components".[2] This type of ammunition is listed as an official acronym at the Ministry of Defense (UK).[3]

Types

There were in 2017 four types of 35 mm AHEAD ammunition:[4]

  • PMD062 with a payload of 152 sub-projectiles,
  • PMD330 with 497 sub-projectiles,
  • PMD375 with 860 sub-projectiles,
  • PMD428 with more than 600 sub-projectiles

History

AHEAD ammunition was developed as early as 1993.[5]

In 2011 the Taiwanese government procured itself a Skyguard system, which is based on the AHEAD ammunition.[6]

In 2012 AHEAD was delivered to the Luftwaffe by Rheinmetall for their MANTIS defense system.[7]

At the 2018 Euronaval trade show, the Oerlikon Millenium Gun was noted as able to fire AHEAD ammunition.[8]

In 2018, AHEAD ammunition capable Oerlikon Revolver Guns were proposed to the Ministry of Defense (Egypt) by the manufacturer, in order to update its air defense system.[9]

In January 2019 the South African Defence Forces boasted about its upgraded ability to fire AHEAD ammunition at airborne targets via a networked multi-gun emplacement.[10]

In 2021 Rheinmetall recently tested its 35mm Revolver Gun against drone swarms with the use of AHEAD ammunition.[11][12]

In summer 2022 AHEAD was the subject of study by a group of Chinese scientists.[13]

In August 2022 the munitions were listed on the scrapped purchase order for the badly-needed towed air defence gun missile systems (ADGMS) of the Ministry of Defence (India) (MODIN).[14] It seemed the matter excited quite some controversy around this time.[15]

In October 2022 the munitions were listed as one of the technical requirements for a gun that would be procured by the MODIN.[16]

In November 2022 the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, pleaded to the Biden administration for the donation of C-RAM air defense systems which use AHEAD ammunition.[17]

References
  1. "Future Trends in Army Air Defence Systems". www.spslandforces.com.
  2. "U.S. Navy Completes Initial Testing of Lockheed Martin Naval Gun". Media - Lockheed Martin.
  3. (PDF) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/344563/20140808_MOD_Acronyms_and_Abbreviations.pdf. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "German weapon exports". World Defense.
  5. . p. 21 https://books.google.com/books?id=gOMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Air Force upgrading 'Skyguard' system - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. December 28, 2011.
  7. "Rheinmetall delivers Mantis air defence system to German Air Force". November 26, 2012.
  8. "Euronaval 2018: Which Naval Guns and Missiles for FLOTLOG ?". navyrecognition.com.
  9. Valpolini, Paolo (December 3, 2018). "Rheinmetall proposal for Egyptian GBAD".
  10. "Keeping the skies safe - 35 mm Air Defence Artillery logistic support - Sigma Logistic Solutions Press Office". defenceWeb.
  11. "Rheinmetall tests Revolver Gun against drone swarms". Israel Defense. July 14, 2021.
  12. "Rheinmetall tests Revolver Gun Mk 3 against UAV swarms". Janes.com.
  13. . doi:10.12382/bgxb.2022.A001. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. . 27 August 2022 https://thewire.in/security/air-defence-gun-missile-system-indian-army-marvel-comics. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. https://www.spsmai.com/experts-speak/?id=1027&q=Air-Defence-Gun-Systems-Light-at-the-end-of-the-Barrel. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. (PDF) https://www.mod.gov.in/sites/default/files/Sucessor-AD-Gun-RFP-for-uploading-Mod.pdf. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. "C-RAM – protection against drones, missiles and projectiles • Mezha.Media". November 9, 2022.
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