Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

Denel GV5 Luiperd (G5 Leopard)

1983 ANGOLAN BUSH WAR COLD WAR MODERN

History

For most of the Cold War, South Africa was apartheid. The official political movement, which originated in the colonial era, sought to confiscate the rights of non-whites in the country. Of course, over time, violence against the movement erupted and the United Nations imposed a trade embargo that severely limited the African country's ability to procure arms. Therefore, the arms embargo is circumvented by using indigenous funds to develop military equipment.

This gave birth to the South African defence industry - which despite ending apartheid in 1994 - continues to produce outstanding military equipment today, from small arms to tanks, attack helicopters and fighter jets.

In 1966, the South African Border War (also known as the Bush War in Angola) broke out, putting pressure on the South African army still using old military equipment from WWII. Internal development began as an established arms embargo restricted any legitimate new arms purchases.

The initial demand turned into a demand for a new 155mm artillery field gun - a fairly standard battlefield product around the world. Operations in South Africa have shown that this is a real limitation when dealing with enemies using the latest Soviet-style weapons. The main experience of the South African Army so far has been the use of artillery systems of British and American origin.

Design work (with assistance from Canadian engineer Gerald Bull) began in 1976 under the direction of Lyttleton Engineering Works and continued until the early 1980s. The final product - actually a derivative of the GC-45 series of howitzers developed by Gerald Bull Space Research in the 1970s - became the 155mm "G5" gun, which took a long time before being adopted by the modern South The tests and assessments were taken over by the African Army.

Production moved to Denel Land Systems (formerly Lyttleton Engineering Works) and the first equipment was delivered in 1983.

The core of the G5 is to mimic most of the artillery requirements in Western designs. The base design includes a four-wheel cart system with integrated towing arms (referred to as a "split" arrangement) required for vehicle attachment and transport.

The carriage is believed to be of Chinese origin and has a small auxiliary power unit (APU) that allows the carriage to propel independently over short distances - albeit at very low speeds. The gun mount is mounted on a slide rail, while the barrel, breech and elevation/translation controls are located on the mount. A minimum of eight trained artillery personnel are required to manage the various functions of the weapon - from ordering to ammunition management and loading to firing.

The weapon has a total weight of 30,100 pounds and an overall barrel length of 31 feet. The barrel is nearly 23 feet long and is designed for a 45 caliber. The G5 fires primarily 155mm high-explosive (HE) shells designed to remove or destroy "soft" enemy targets within range, which are usually out of sight. The breech (the area where the shells are physically loaded into the firebox) is semi-automatic in nature and features an intermittent screw design, this semi-automatic feature is designed to help the rifle group maintain a healthy rate of fire (approximately 3 rounds per minute).

Barrel elevation is limited to between +75 and -3, while yaw ranges from 65 to 82 degrees depending on elevation. A large muzzle brake with baffles was installed for recoil delay. The muzzle velocity of the projectile is reported to be 2,943 feet per second, while the unsupported ammunition has a range of up to 19 miles. Long-range, rocket-launched armor-piercing projectiles have a range of up to 30 miles if needed.

As with other 155mm weapons in this class, it is assumed that the G5 can use chemical projectiles if necessary.

The G5 has since appeared in four different production forms, starting with the original G5 Mk I. This was followed by the improved G5 Mk II, and finally the updated G5 Mk III - each with improvements to make its weapon system more complete and adaptable to the changes of the modern battlefield. The 2002 G5-2000 became the latest version of the G5 series and featured a new extended 52 caliber barrel for improved accuracy at longer distances.

The G5 artillery system has also been successfully implemented on tracked and wheeled vehicle carriers, which can be mounted on an enclosed 360-degree rotating turret. This only serves to significantly expand the tactical range of an already powerful weapon. The six-round South African "G6" in 1987 is an example.

Other foreign parties have taken note of and taken an interest in the arrangement and have procured weapons for this purpose.

Before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraq was the largest operator of the G5 series, with about 100 weapons in its inventory. Since Iran has at least 30 of its own systems, the weapon was used against itself in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988.

So far, South Africa has purchased 45 guns for its own inventory, while Malaysia has bought 22 and Qatar has purchased 12 modest systems. Israel is also believed to use the G5 system, which was reportedly deployed in the Bekaa Valley in 1986.

The first use of the G5 in combat by the South African Army was recorded during the 1982 conflict with Angola.