KNDS continues tests of potential gun for future Main Ground Combat System
Ascalon firing tests took place last month. (Photo: KNDS)
The Ascalon gun is designed to allow for a quick change between 140mm and 120mm barrels and is being designed as a concept for the development of the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) main weapon.
KNDS completed the latest round of test firings with its Ascalon 140mm/120mm calibre gun last month and has set its sights on conducting tests from a main battle tank in 2025, which would mark an important step for use on the future MGCS.
May’s tests were part of a programme for several hundred firings which started in May 2022 and will be expected to continue to the end of 2025.
A key design feature of Ascalon is that it is a scalable gun to provide more modularity and the most recent demonstration included shooting with a 140mm barrel followed by a change to a 120mm barrel before new firing of 120mm ammunition.
The company said the campaign showed the possibility offered by the Ascalon concept to fit any barrel from 120mm to 140mm on a sole carriage in less than one hour.
Ascalon has been designed with an open architecture to serve as a basis for cooperative development of a combat gun platform within the framework of the Franco-German MGCS programme, laying the foundations for the future standard of European tank gun and ammunition.
Shephard Defence Insight noted MGCS is in its early stages and involves France, Germany and Italy. The project's demonstration commenced in mid-2019, with firm requirements expected to be determined around 2024. Should the programme progress on schedule, the new platform could enter service in 2035 at the earliest.
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