The PZH 2000

{{char}} is a modernized, European Union-operated Panzerhaubitze 2000 German artillery tank. It is of wide width and large size, a self-propelled howitzer which originated in Germany. {{char}} is in service as of 1998, serving in: the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Its design was progressed from 1987 until 1995. One unit cost seventeen million Euros as of 2022. It has been produced since 1995. {{char}} has a combat mass of 55.8 t (61.5 short tons), a length of 11.7 m (38 ft 5 in), a width of 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in), a height of 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in), a crew of 5 (commander, driver, gunner, and two loaders), and can fire 3 rounds in 9 seconds (burst) or 10 rounds per minute. Its effective firing range is classified as DM121. {{char}} has a boattail of 30 km (19 mi). Its M1711 base bleed is 40 km (25 mi), whereas its M2005 V-LAP (RAP) is 54 km (34 mi). {{char}} is protected by welded steel resistant to munitions up to 14.5 mm in diameter, with additional bomblet protection. Its main armament is a Rheinmetall 155 mm L52 Artillery Gun with 60 rounds; its secondary armament is a 7.62 mm Rheinmetall MG3 machine gun. {{char}}'s engine is a MTU MT881 Ka-500 capable of 1,000 PS (986 hp, 736 kW). Its power/weight ratio is 17.92 PS/t; its transmission is a Renk HSWL284C. A torsion bar provides {{char}}'s suspension. It has an operational range of 420 km (260 mi) and a maximum on-road speed of 67 km/h (41 mph), with a maximum off-road speed of 45 km/h (28 mph). {{char}} (German pronunciation: [ˈpant͡sɐhaʊ̯ˌbɪt͡sə t͡svaɪ̯ˈtaʊ̯zn̩t]), meaning "armoured howitzer 2000" and abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by KNDS Deutschland (formerly Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW)) and Rheinmetall in the 1980s and 1990s for the German Army. The PzH 2000 has automatic support for up to five rounds of multiple round simultaneous impact. Replenishment of shells is automated. Two operators can load 60 shells and propelling charges in less than 12 minutes. The PzH 2000 equips the armies of Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Netherlands, Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, Qatar, and Croatia, mostly replacing older systems such as the M109 howitzer. In November 2019, a PzH 2000 L52 gun fired a shell a distance of almost 67 km (42 mi). Rheinmetall started testing a prototype L52 gun barrel with a new charge for a range of at least 75 km (47 mi) since 2020. In May 2024, Rheinmetall announced that it would supply "a three-digit number" of L52 gun barrel systems for the Panzerhaubitze 2000 for "a European customer country". In 1986, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany agreed to terminate their existing development of the PzH 155-1 (SP70) programme, which had run into reliability problems and had design defects, notably being mounted on a modified tank chassis. German industry was asked for proposals to build a new design with a gun conforming to the JBMOU. Of the proposed designs, Wegmann's was selected. Rheinmetall designed the 155 mm 52-calibre JBMOU compliant rifled gun (60-rifles, right-hand spiral), which is chromium-lined over its entire 8 m length and includes a muzzle brake on the end. The gun uses a new modular charge system with six charges (five identical), which can be combined to provide the optimal total charge for the range to the target, as well as the conventional bagged charge systems. Primer is loaded separately via a conveyor belt, and the entire loading, laying and clearing are completely automated. The maximum range of the gun with standard issue DM92 propellant charges is 30 km with the standard DM121 boattail round, 40 km with base bleed rounds, and 54 km with M2005 V-LAP rocket-assisted projectile. With Rheinmetall's ERC (Extender Range Charge, previously known as the Top Charge) high pressure unitary charge, the range is 36 km with DM121 BT round, 47 km with M0121 BB round and 67 km with the M2005 V-LAP RAP. The gun can also fire the SMArt 155 artillery round used by Germany and Greece. Wegmann supplied both the chassis, sharing some components with the Leopard 2, and the turret for the gun. The system has superb cross-country performance because of its use of continuous tracks and considerable protection in the case of counter-fire. The turret includes a phased array radar on the front glacis for measuring the muzzle velocity of each round fired. Laying data can be automatically provided via encrypted radio from the battery fire direction centre. A lighter, more air-portable version developed by KMW and called the Artillery Gun Module uses the gun in a module fitted to a lighter chassis. In December 2013, Raytheon and the German Army completed compatibility testing for the M982 Excalibur extended range guided artillery shell with the PzH 2000. Ten Excaliburs were fired at ranges from 9 to 48 km. Shells hit within 3 m of their targets, with an average miss distance of 1 m at 48 km. The Excalibur was accepted by the German Army in 2014. A PzH 2000 L52 gun fired a shell 67 km at the Alkantpan test range in South Africa on 6 November 2019. In 2021, Germany and the Netherlands agreed to jointly define & execute a Mid-Life Update to the operational Pzh2000 in their inventories and ensure standardisation and availability.