T-155 Fırtına

T-155 Fırtına
Type - Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin - Turkey / South Korea
Service history
Wars - Kurdish-Turkish Conflict / Syrian Civil War
Production history
Designer - Turkish Land Forces / Agency for Defense Development / Samsung Techwin
Designed - 1995-2001
Manufacturer - Turkish Land Forces
Produced - 2001-present
Variants - Poyraz ARV
Specifications
Mass - Combat: 56 tons
Length - 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Width - 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
Height - 3.43 m (11 ft 3 in)
Crew - 5 (commander, driver, gunner, 2 loaders)
Armor - POSCO MIL-12560H armor steel
Main armament - MKEK 155 mm 52 caliber
Secondary armament - 12.7 mm machine gun
Engine - STX Engine STX-MTU MT881Ka-500 8-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine (735 kW (1,000 hp) @ 2,700 rpm)
Power/weight - 17.85 hp/ton
Transmission - SNT Dynamics X1100-5A3 4 forward, 2 reverse
Suspension - hydropneumatic
Maximum speed - 66 km/h (41 mph)

T-155 Fırtına (Turkish for Storm) is a Turkish variant of K9 Thunder 155 mm self-propelled howitzer co-developed with South Korea utilizing Turkish technology and design into existing K9 Thunder. It is manufactured and assembled by Turkish Land Forces at the 1010th Army Equipment Repair Factory using imported subsystems from Korea. It has an ongoing upgrade project dubbed as T-155 Fırtına II, possibly changing its engine to Ukraine origin to avoid Germany's restriction on Turkey's defense sales.

Development

General characteristics
The T-155 retains most of the K9's features, such as the CN98 155 mm barrel and chassis, produced through the technology transfer of Agency for Defense Development (ADD) in South Korea. However, its turret reflects original Turkish design, increasing both ammunition capacity and combat weight, thus reducing power to weight ratio. APU (auxiliary power unit) is installed while commander's panoramic sight is removed. Parts of the chassis, the INS (inertial navigation system), and electronic systems such as the radio and FCS (fire control system) were developed in Turkey. Inertial Navigation system was produced by ASELSAN.
The howitzer is able to determine the coordinates of the targets at 17.5 meters deviation. Fırtına can open fire within 30 seconds.
The T-155 Fırtına has a maximum firing range of 40 km, depending on the type of ammunition. It can reach a top speed of 66 km/h.
The gun is produced by MKEK under license by transferring the production technology of the K9's CN98 155 mm barrel from ADD. The production rate of the T-155 is 24 units per year. More than 350 T-155 Fırtına howitzers were planned to be produced. 281 have been delivered between 2005 and 2010.
An upgraded version dubbed "Firtina 2" was to begin production in 2017, featuring improvement to range and rate of fire. The new vehicles were to be fitted with remote weapons stations capable of carrying 12.7 mm, 7.62 mm machine guns and 40 mm grenade launchers.
Poyraz Ammunition Resupply Vehicle
The Poyraz Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (ARV) is an indigenous vehicle with an ammunition transfer system similar to that of the South Korean K10 ARV. The vehicle has a boom that is extended towards the rear of the T-155 Fırtına turret, where the resupply takes place. The Poyraz ARV has an auxiliary power unit, which the K10 ARV lacks, that allows the vehicle's crew to use electronics and communication systems, and to run an ammunition transfer system economically without the main engines being turned on.
The Poyraz ARV can carry up to 96 155 mm shells and is able to transfer 48 shells in 20 minutes. It has a range of 360 km.
Operational history
The T-155 Fırtına was first deployed in Turkey's Operation Sun at the end of 2007 into January 2008 to fight the PKK militants in the northern part of Iraq. It was used in 2012 Syrian-Turkish border clashes and again during both the Jarabulus offensive (2016) and the Afrin offensive (2018).

Operators

Current operators

 Turkey
Turkey originally planned to manufacture 350 Fırtına, 280 for Turkish Army and 70 for future customer, by 2011 per agreement with South Korea in exchange for free technology transfer from the Agency for Defense Development of South Korea. Turkey built 280 for its military use only.
 Azerbaijan
The contract between the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan on the purchase of 36 units of T-155 was signed in 2011, but due to the fact that the engine was made in Germany and Germany imposed an embargo on arms sales to these countries, taking into account the fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia are at war, this contract was not implemented.The models sold to Azerbaijan use the 6TD-2 diesel engines produced by the Morozov Kharkiv machine-building plant, which are used in Ukrainian T-84 "Oplot" tanks, as the power unit in the export models of "Fırtına" howitzers.
Future operators
 Qatar
 Saudi Arabia

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Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer