Some time ago, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that Serbia is about to sign an important military contract with Algeria. According to this contract, Algeria will purchase 48 sets of "Nora" B52 NG wheeled self-propelled artillery systems from Serbia. Although more details about the final cost and implementation schedule have not yet been announced, it is generally believed that the contract has been finalized and Serbia has finally won this arms order.
"Nora" B52
The defense relationship between Serbia and Algeria can be traced back to the Cold War, when both countries were part of the Non-Aligned Movement, laying the foundation for the long-term partnership between the two countries. In terms of arms trade, Serbia inherited most of the former Yugoslav military-industrial complex and has been Algeria’s main arms supplier. It not only sold various types of military equipment to Algeria, from small arms to advanced weapons and vehicles, but also helped Algeria produce Russian, Chinese and NATO-style artillery shells.
The Algerian military had the idea of purchasing the "Nora" self-propelled artillery from Serbia several years ago and inspected the artillery. However, on the one hand, the various indicators of the artillery were not perfect and did not meet the expectations of the Algerian Army. On the other hand, the manufacturer Yougoimport had limited production capacity and could not deliver a large number of orders in a short period of time. There were also some differences between the two sides in terms of technology transfer, so the negotiations eventually fell through. It was not until 2019 that Algerian Army Chief of Staff Said Chengriha attended the International Defense Exhibition held in Belgrade and saw the fully upgraded "Nora" self-propelled artillery. The two sides negotiated again on the introduction of this type of artillery and finally decided to introduce 48 sets of "Nora" B52 NG wheeled self-propelled artillery systems.
The "Nora" B52 NG is a wheeled self-propelled artillery system developed by Yugoimport of Serbia. The company was born out of the former "Belgrade Military Technical Institute" in Yugoslavia, and the "Nora" B52 series of wheeled self-propelled artillery is its flagship product. This artillery began to be developed in 2001. The initial version was relatively simple. It was a 52-caliber 155mm long-barreled gun improved on the basis of the M46/84 towed howitzer, which was directly mounted on the FAP2832 8x8 off-road truck chassis of the Brasov Machinery Manufacturing Plant in Romania, thereby improving the mobility of the artillery.
After several improvements, the "Nora" B52 artillery produced a sample gun in 2004 and was unveiled at the Abu Dhabi Defense Exhibition in 2005. The gun vehicle is only 10 meters long, 2.8 meters wide, with a wheelbase of 2.4 meters and a height of about 3 meters, which reduces the height of the vehicle in the marching state, reduces the chance of being discovered, and improves battlefield survivability. However, the artillery is equipped with a simple turret structure, and the operating platform is still semi-enclosed, with limited automation. Therefore, the "Nora" B52 at this time can only be regarded as a truck gun.
Although the degree of automation is not high, the performance of the "Nora" B52 is still good. The M46/84 howitzer bore trajectory it uses has been corrected, and it has the characteristics of combining the long-range advantage of the M46 plus howitzer with the versatility of 155mm ammunition. Coupled with the large caliber of 52 times, the barrel of more than 8 meters long with a crown-shaped double-chamber muzzle brake at the front end has become the most eye-catching external identification feature of the "Nora" B52.
The "Nora" B-52 can fire all NATO standard 155mm caliber ammunition, and its firepower covers a large area: for example, when firing full-bore bottom-discharge extended-range bullets, the maximum range can reach 42 kilometers, and the long-distance dispersion can be reduced by 70%. For example, when using the cheapest American M107 grenade, the maximum range is 23.8 kilometers. It can not only be used to suppress deep targets behind the enemy, but also conduct limited-range anti-tank operations, with a maximum direct firing distance of 3.5 kilometers.
’Nora" wheeled self-propelled artillery
After the launch of the "Nora" B52, the market response was mediocre, and even the Serbian Army believed that the gun was far from perfect. Therefore, Yugoimport could only improve and upgrade it. In 2017, the fully upgraded "Nora" B52K2 made its first appearance. The new gun uses a brand-new chassis and a redesigned turret, equipped with a new computer fire control system and an automated gun control system. It is fully automated, and the shells are remotely loaded from the cockpit. The gun crew can complete the shooting task without getting off the car.
To facilitate foreign trade, the "Nora" B52K2 can choose a variety of chassis, such as the MAN TGS8x8 chassis, the KAMAZ 6560 chassis, etc. Hanervia’s self-use model uses the FAP2832 chassis, and the diesel engine and transmission mechanism are located behind and below the cab. The vehicle has a maximum speed of 90 km/h, a maximum range of about 800 km, a climbing grade of 60%, a side slope of 30%, can climb a 0.6-meter-high vertical wall, a trench width of 1.2~1.5 meters, a wading depth of about 1.2 meters, and can operate normally in an environment of -25 to +55 degrees Celsius. The march-to-combat conversion time is <90 seconds.
The artillery vehicle not only has a reinforced chassis, but also a reinforced protection design for the cab. The armored cockpit can protect the occupants from light weapons and shell fragments. The vehicle can withstand the explosion of 6 kg of TNT anywhere under the vehicle body without being destroyed. The gun has a short redeployment time and can quickly leave the firing position to avoid counter-artillery fire. A hatch and a weapon seat are also set on the top of the cab, and a 12.7 mm machine gun or a 12.7 mm remote weapon station can be selected as an auxiliary weapon.
The huge turret of the "Nora" B52K2 is installed at the rear of the chassis. When marching, the gun is fixed forward by the marching fixture. When fighting, the turret turns 180 degrees to shoot backward. Turret four Four hydraulic spades are arranged on the frame of the vehicle. When in the marching state, they are flipped up and folded into the outline of the vehicle body. When in the firing state, they are flipped down and extended to support the vehicle body to stabilize the vehicle body posture. At the same time, they withstand the recoil when the artillery is fired and protect the chassis running device and tires.
The turret adopts a fully enclosed structure, with a glass observation window on the front and hatches on the left and right sides to facilitate the exit of the gun crew. The size of the turret is very large, and the center of gravity of the entire artillery is very high. A 52-caliber 155mm howitzer is installed in the turret, which can be driven by electro-hydraulic lifting and manual control lateral movement. The pitch range is -5 degrees to +65 degrees, the pitch speed is 8 degrees per second, and the shooting speed is 10000 times the height. The angle is 60 degrees behind the vehicle, and the horizontal movement speed is 6 degrees/s.
An automatic loader is installed in the turret. The left side of the gun carriage is a propellant chamber, which contains 12 different numbers of combustible propellants, and the right side is a 12-round projectile chamber. When firing, the chamber first rotates to select the appropriate shells and cartridges, and then the swing arm feeders on both sides swing sideways to grab the shells and cartridges at the same time, and swing back to be parallel to the direction of the gun body, and then both swing upward at the same time to be parallel to the gun barrel. The projectile feed arm first swings sideways to aim at the gun barrel, and the projectile is pushed into the gun barrel by the flexible push rod, and then the flexible push rod is retracted, and the projectile feeder is recovered and returned to the initial position. Then the cartridge feed arm swings sideways to aim at the gun barrel, and the flexible push rod pushes the cartridge into the gun barrel and locks the horizontal wedge-type gun door, and then the gun fires to complete the shooting.
"Nora" B52K2 artillery adopts automatic aiming, and the fire control computer automatically calculates the ballistics. Just press the gun adjustment button to automatically adjust the gun to aim. The automatic aiming frees the crew from the traditional aiming work, focusing on monitoring and decision-making to improve combat effectiveness. The firing rate is 4 rounds per minute. There are 24 spare shells and cartridges in the ammunition compartment at the rear of the turret, but manual replenishment is required.
"Nora" B52K2 artillery has independent combat capability, can automatically and accurately locate/orient, and automatically correct the gun position inclination. The vehicle is equipped with a ballistic computer and data communication radio, which can quickly and independently complete the shooting task on the position without geodetic preparation. The control room of the gun is equipped with an image display device, a computer console, a data storage device, an inertial navigation system, a global satellite positioning system receiver, etc. After the firing data is input into the computer of the launch vehicle, the firing parameters can be calculated and the artillery can be aimed at the target through digital signals. The automation and information level are quite good, the transition from marching to fighting is fast, and it can be put into battle in 50 seconds, and it has the ability to quickly enter and exit the position and "hit and run".
Due to its good performance, the export performance of the "Nora" B52K2 wheeled self-propelled artillery is quite good. Bangladesh has imported 18 vehicles, Kenya has imported 30 vehicles, and Myanmar has imported 36 vehicles. The new improved model of the gun, B52 M21, also participated in the bidding of the US Army wheeled artillery with Israel’s ATMOS "Iron Sword" vehicle-mounted howitzer and Sweden’s "Archer" vehicle-mounted howitzer, and conducted shooting tests at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, USA.
Algeria’s imported model
The model introduced by Algeria this time is the "Nora" B52 NG, which is the latest modification developed on the basis of the "Nora" B52 M21 wheeled self-propelled artillery. While maintaining the same number of shells and charge as its predecessor, the Nora B52 NG introduces several groundbreaking features that will redefine modern artillery systems.
One of the standout features of the Nora B52 NG is its improved ammunition handling system. Instead of just 12 rounds in the previous generation autoloader, the new system has 30 rounds of autoloading, which not only enhances the vehicle’s sustained firepower, but also simplifies the loading process, significantly reducing downtime between shots.
The "Nora" B52 NG is equipped with the proven 52-caliber 155mm howitzer that has been used in previous versions, which means that the gun is compatible with firing all NATO ammunition and can also accommodate NATO modular charge systems to make the overall charge compatible. This versatility allows for a wider range of mission options and operational flexibility. It can fire various types of ammunition, including high-explosive anti-personnel ammunition, rocket-assisted artillery shells, smoke bombs, flares, and submunitions equipped with anti-tank or anti-personnel submunitions, etc., ensuring that the artillery can adapt to different combat scenarios. If special ammunition needs to be loaded, such as precision-guided anti-tank ammunition, terminal-sensitive bombs, or ammunition longer than standard ammunition, a manual backup system is required.
"Nora" B52 The NG wheeled self-propelled artillery has a range of 32.5 kilometers when firing extended range full-caliber (ERFB) projectiles, a range of 41.5 kilometers when firing long-range full-bore bottom discharge projectiles, and an astonishing range of 52 kilometers when firing velocity-enhanced projectiles (VLAP). It can also fire laser-guided projectiles. In addition, the gun also has the ability of multiple rounds simultaneously impacting (MRSI), which can quickly fire 3 rounds of artillery shells with different charge amounts and firing angles in a very short time, and then hit the target at the same time to achieve the maximum damage effect.
"Nora" B52 The NG wheeled self-propelled artillery has a high degree of informatization, with a crew of 5 people (commander, gunner, driver and two crew members). When firing, the crew can communicate through the UMK unit without leaving the modular crew cabin, and can use inertial navigation, GPS system, etc. for ground navigation and positioning.
The automated fire control system includes a gun-mounted ballistic computer, a navigation and positioning system, and a set of wireless data link/voice communication equipment connected to an external command and control system. These devices enable this type of self-propelled artillery to establish close links with other target detection systems and other weapon systems through the tactical firing command system and the advanced field artillery tactical data system, thereby realizing real-time sharing of battlefield information resources, greatly improving the gun’s autonomous combat capability, response capability and comprehensive combat effectiveness.
The fire control system has complete performance, using a large LCD screen to display superior information on the command seat and ballistic parameters on the fire control seat. It can select different modes to determine the artillery attack target, select the type of ammunition, control the elevation of the artillery, and determine the initial velocity of the ammunition. It can perform battlefield observation, target locking, data transmission, ballistic calculation, and firepower command transmission.
The vehicle is equipped with an inertial navigation device with satellite (GPSGLONASS, Galileo) backup, which can automatically calibrate its own position and share information with the new field command system (FADAC). In this way, it only takes 1 minute from the artillery vehicle entering the position to firing the first round, which is convenient for adopting the "hit and run" tactics and can quickly move positions. In modern warfare, it is very dangerous for self-propelled howitzers to stay in a launch position for a long time. After a base number is fired, it is necessary to quickly move the position and replenish ammunition.
Conclusion
It can be said that the "Nora" B52 NG, which combines firepower and flexibility, is an excellent wheeled self-propelled artillery. With its excellent versatility and easy deployment, this type of artillery can meet the international demand for advanced artillery solutions and become a valuable addition to the arsenal of many countries. The export of this type of artillery to Algeria will be seen as a strategic move to strengthen Algeria’s military capabilities, and technology transfer is also likely. The Serbs claim that the agreement is expected to have a significant impact on regional defense dynamics and demonstrate Serbia’s growing role as a global arms trade participant. If completed, the agreement will not only prove the growing relationship between Serbia and Algeria, but also a major achievement of the Serbian defense industry on the international stage. 2
