XM2001 Crusader
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The XM2001 Crusader was to be the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
's next-generation self-propelled
howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
(SPH), designed to improve the survivability, lethality, mobility, and effectiveness of the artillery as well as the overall force. It was initially scheduled for fielding by 2008.
United Defense United Defense Industries (UDI) was an American defense contractor which became part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments after being acquired by BAE Systems in 2005. The company produced combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and ...
was the prime contractor;
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
the major subcontractor. In early May 2002, Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
canceled the US$11 billion program because he considered it neither mobile nor precise enough. The prototype SPH vehicle is on display at the cannon park at
Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
.


Inception

The Crusader was conceived as the Advanced Field Artillery System (AFAS), part of a family of vehicles built around a common chassis in the
Armored Systems Modernization The Armored Systems Modernization (ASM) was a U.S. Army combat vehicle procurement program canceled in 1992. The Army sought to develop a family of six armored vehicles based on two common chassis, one heavy and one medium, which would both share c ...
program. In October 1992, the Army canceled Armored Systems Modernization due to changing budgetary priorities caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1994 AFAS was renamed "Crusader." In 1996, the Crusader's experimental liquid propellant system was replaced by more traditional solid propellant bags. In 1997 the
Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
advised the Army to consider either upgrading the Paladin or to purchase the German
Panzerhaubitze 2000 The Panzerhaubitze 2000 ("tank howitzer 2000"), () abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall in the 1980s and 1990s for the German Army. It is capable of a very h ...
instead. The Crusader was intended to replace the
M109A6 Paladin M1, M01 or M-1 may refer to: Arts, entertainment & media * WD-M01 Turn A Gundam, a mecha from the anime ''Turn A Gundam'' * M-1 (rapper), one half of hip hop duo Dead Prez * Korg M1, a keyboard synthesizer * Leica M1, a 1959 35 mm camera mo ...
self-propelled howitzer and the
M992 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle The M992A2 Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle (FAASV) is built on the chassis of the M109-series howitzer. It is also colloquially referred to as a "cat" (referring to its nomenclature, CAT: Carrier, Ammunition, Tracked). It replaced the ...
(FAASV). It was intended to be an automated gun artillery system to support the Interim Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT) Counterattack Corps and a basis for other vehicle developments. Key features of the Crusader design included: * A cooled XM297E2 cannon for sustained high rates of fire * Automated ammunition handling and loading * Cockpit with embedded command and control *
Composite armor Composite armour is a type of vehicle armour consisting of layers of different material such as metals, plastics, ceramics or air. Most composite armours are lighter than their all-metal equivalent, but instead occupy a larger volume for the sam ...
* Survivability features to protect the vehicle and crew * GE/Honeywell LV100-5
gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
engine to keep up with other fighting vehicles The Army required that the Crusader was to share a common engine with the
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
. The principal driver for this change was to shed weight off the Crusader.
Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc. (stock symbol CAT) is an American ''Fortune'' 500 corporation and the world's largest construction-equipment manufacturer. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 65 on the ''Fortune'' 500 list and number 238 on the Global ''Fo ...
proposed a diesel engine, as did a joint venture of
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
and
DaimlerChrysler The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
. In September 2000, the Army selected
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
's LV 100 turbine engine. The Army was to procure as many as 3600 of these, including 2845 for the Abrams and 846 for the Crusader. Using the same chassis, the resupply vehicles (RSVs) would deliver automatic, reciprocal transfer of ammunition, data and fuel to the SPH or another RSV.


Program timeline

* 1QFY95 Approved to commence program definition and risk reduction (PDRR) phase. * 2QFY98 In-process review completed and manufacture of the PDRR prototype systems begun. * 3QFY99 Delivery of first RSV prototype. * 2QFY00 Delivery of first prototype howitzer SPH 1. * 1QFY02 Successful preliminary design review. * 1QFY02 More than 4000 rounds fired from SPH 1. * 2QFY02 Program discontinued.


Specifications


Cancellation

In October 1999, Army Chief of Staff
Eric Shinseki Eric Ken Shinseki (; born November 28, 1942) is a retired United States Army general who served as the seventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2009–2014). His final United States Army post was as the 34th Chief of Staff of the Arm ...
outlined a future that envisioned transforming heavy brigades into lighter brigades outfitted with wheeled
Interim Armored Vehicle The Interim Armored Vehicle (IAV) was a U.S. Army armored fighting vehicle acquisition program. General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) and General Motors Defense proposed a vehicle based on the LAV III. The Army selected the LAV III proposal over ...
s, later renamed "Stryker." Shinseki said the priority of a lighter, more mobile army could shift resources from heavier armored vehicle acquisitions. The following month Shinseki said the vehicles were too heavy: the howitzer and its resupply vehicle would weigh a combined 110 tons, more than could be carried by any of the Air Force's aircraft, including the
C-5 Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-ran ...
if flight rules aren't waived. Shinseki spoke with contractor
United Defense United Defense Industries (UDI) was an American defense contractor which became part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments after being acquired by BAE Systems in 2005. The company produced combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and ...
about bringing down the combined weight of the two vehicles by 20 tons, which United agreed was possible. In April 2001, a panel convened by Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
recommended canceling the Crusader and other defense modernization programs. An official involved called the Crusader "a wonderful system -- for a legacy world." As of 2002, the Army planned to acquire 480 Crusaders at a program cost of $11 billion. In February 2002, President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
allocated $475 million for the Crusader program in the White House's 2003 budget proposal, which also proposed increased
Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...
spending by $48 billion. In April, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, whose concerns about defense modernization overspending had intensified, met with Pentagon officials including Army Secretary
Thomas E. White Thomas Eugene White Jr. (born December 14, 1943) is an American businessman and former United States Army officer who served as senior executive at the now collapsed Enron and as the United States Secretary of the Army from May 31, 2001 until ...
to discuss defense spending cuts to free funding for more essential modernization programs. The officials discussed cuts to the Crusader, RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, and
F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
. Some officials questioned whether the howitzer was redundant given the parallel development of a lighter howitzer for the
Future Combat Systems Future Combat Systems (FCS) was the United States Army's principal modernization program from 2003 to early 2009. Formally launched in 2003, FCS was envisioned to create new brigades equipped with new manned and unmanned vehicles linked by an unpr ...
modernization effort. On May 9, Rumsfeld announced that he would ask Congress to cancel the $11 billion program. Days before, Congress members favorable to the Crusader received talking points from Army officials who sought to save the program. The last-minute lobbying prompted anger from Rumsfeld and an internal Army investigation into its congressional liaison office. The investigation culminated with the resignation of the Army official who had distributed the talking points. After being absolved himself of wrongdoing in the matter, Army Secretary White assured that he supported Rumsfeld's decision and said the Army was analyzing alternatives to the Crusader including the
M982 Excalibur The M982 Excalibur (previously XM982) is a 155 mm extended-range guided artillery shell developed in a collaborative effort between the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering ...
155-mm guided artillery shell. The House Appropriations Committee responded, after rejecting a measure that would have sustained the program until the fall, asking the Pentagon to delay plans to cancel the Crusader. Later that month President Bush asked Congress to reallocate the Crusader's budget towards other Army developmental weapons including $310 million for
Future Combat Systems Future Combat Systems (FCS) was the United States Army's principal modernization program from 2003 to early 2009. Formally launched in 2003, FCS was envisioned to create new brigades equipped with new manned and unmanned vehicles linked by an unpr ...
in the proposed 2003 Pentagon budget. The XM2001 Crusader self-propelled howitzer had a speed of around compared to the PzH 2000 speed of around . However, the Pentagon refused German suggestions of producing a PzH that would have detachable armor, which could be shipped separately, or substituting titanium for steel in many parts.


Similar vehicles

*
AS-90 The AS-90 ("Artillery System for the 1990s"), known officially as Gun Equipment 155 mm L131, is an armoured self-propelled artillery weapon used by the British Army. It can fire standard charges up to using 39 calibre long barrel (comp ...
*
Panzerhaubitze 2000 The Panzerhaubitze 2000 ("tank howitzer 2000"), () abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall in the 1980s and 1990s for the German Army. It is capable of a very h ...
* 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV * K9A2 Thunder


See also

*
Armored Systems Modernization The Armored Systems Modernization (ASM) was a U.S. Army combat vehicle procurement program canceled in 1992. The Army sought to develop a family of six armored vehicles based on two common chassis, one heavy and one medium, which would both share c ...
, a wide-ranging U.S. Army combat vehicle acquisition program cancelled after the end of the Cold War * XM1203 Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon, a U.S. Army self-propelled howitzer canceled in 2011 that was a part of the
Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles The Manned Ground Vehicles (MGV) was a family of lighter and more transportable ground vehicles developed by BAE Systems and General Dynamics as part of the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The MGV program was intended as a succe ...
program *
M1299 The M1299 is an American prototype 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer developed by BAE Systems in 2019 under the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) program. It is based on the M109A7 self-propelled howitzer, and was primarily designed ...
, a U.S. Army replacement for the
M109 howitzer The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s to replace the M44. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common Western indirect-fi ...
*
M8 Armored Gun System The M8 Armored Gun System (AGS), sometimes known as the Buford, is an American light tank that was intended to replace the M551 Sheridan and TOW missile-armed Humvees in the 82nd Airborne Division and 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (2nd ACR) of ...
, a U.S. Army light tank project cancelled in 1996


References


External links


XM2001 Crusader Specs 1


{{General Dynamics Self-propelled howitzers of the United States Tracked self-propelled howitzers Abandoned military projects of the United States 155 mm artillery United Defense