SSPH 1 Primus (Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1)

History

Singapore Kinetics Corporation (ST Kinetics) developed the SSPH 1 "Primus" (Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1) to meet the requirements of the Singapore Army. Design work began in 1996 with input from the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) itself, and the vehicle was announced in 2002 and officially launched in 2004.

The SSPH 1 was developed following a defence review of existing existing foreign systems, all of which were innately capable but lacked certain qualities required by the Singapore Army. Therefore, an indigenous approach was chosen.

As we all know, the SSPH 1 is largely a conventional self-propelled howitzer (SPH). It features a multi-track arrangement with seven twin-tire wheels on one side of the body, drive sprockets at the front and track idlers at the rear. The front right of the fuselage is the engine, and the front left is the driver.

The additional crew - commander, gunner and loader - sits in a box turret structure on which a 155mm NATO compatible main gun (with dual muzzle brakes) is mounted. The weapon is supported by a self-interrupting screw design with an in-game electronic striker. This provides a semi-automatic loading process that helps reduce crew fatigue in the field and maintain a reasonable rate of fire.

State-of-the-art ballistic computers are also available. A 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) is mounted on top of the turret for local defense, as are the smoke grenade launchers.

Main gun mounting hardware allows an elevation range of -5 to +75 degrees with a full 360 degree traverse. The maximum rate of fire for continuous fire in the 2 rpm range and bursts (over 20 seconds) in the 3 rpm range is about 6 rounds.

With rocket assistance, the projectile has a range of up to 19 miles.

The finished hull structure has up to 25mm thick armor protection and well-sloped glacis plates. Dimensions include a length of 33 feet (guns forward), a width of 9 feet 10 inches, and a height of 10 feet 9 inches to the top of the turret. Combat weight is 31 tons (short).

The SSPH 1 chassis is believed to be based on the American M109 "Paladin" SPH chassis.

Vehicle is powered by Detroit Diesel 6V 92TA series 550 hp diesel engine. This gives the SSPH 1 a maximum road speed of 31 mph and a road range of 220 miles.

This power pack is designed to be similar to the one already used by the ST Kinetics Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) described elsewhere on this website.

Since its inception, SSPH 1 has stockpiled Singapore Army stocks through the 21st Battalion, Singapore Artillery.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

26 x 155mm bullet

2,500 x 7.62mm ammunition

6 x Smoke Grenade

Changes