Non Line of Sight Cannon
(NLOS-C)
BAE Systems / BOEING/SAIC FCS Team
The primary purpose of NLOS-C is to provide responsive fires in
support of the Future Combat Systems (FCS) Combined Arms Battalions
(CABs) and their subordinate units in concert with other fire effects,
including line-of-sight, Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS), Non-Line-of-Sight
(NLOS), external and joint capabilities. The system provides flexible
support through its ability to change effects round-by-round and
mission-by-mission. These capabilities, combined with rapid response to
calls for fire and rate of fire, provide a variety of effects on demand.
 The cannon will be able to move rapidly, stop quickly and almost
instantly deliver lethal first round effects on target. The cannon will
have a Multiple Round Simultaneous Impact (MRSI) capability, to maximize
the effect on a target, from a single gun or a small number of firing
units. The NLOS-C system mounts an ultra-lightweight 38-caliber, fully
automated 155-mm howitzer. A fully automated ammunition handling system
is installed, holding 155-mm projectiles and Modular Artillery Charge
System
 (MACS) propelling charges in ready to load racks. The automation
eliminates the physical handling of ammunition and provides the system
to fire rounds at sustained rates with minimal physical effort. The
system will enable rapid rearming and refueling.
As a fully automated system, NLOS-Cannon integrates all crew
operations - firing, moving, training and maintenance - into a digitized
two-man cockpit, providing automated handling of all gun systems,
real-time situational awareness, and effective protection from
battlefield conventional and unconventional threats, including nuclear,
biological and chemical environments. The NLOS Cannon, as with all FCS
Manned Ground Vehicles (MGV), incorporates active and passive protection
systems to enhance crew and platform survivability against all types of
battlefield threats.
The NLOS Cannon chassis will feature highly durable, lightweight band
track that provides a smoother ride over conventional steel track. The
track is propelled by a diesel engine and hybrid-electric propulsion
system designed to improve system mobility and reduce fuel consumption.
 In
September 2006, BAE Systems completed the integration of the NLOS-C
first Firing Platform, to be used for firing tests through 2008, when
the NLOS-Cannon prototype is completed. The firing platform uses a
38-caliber length, fully automated 155-mm howitzer, developed at BAE
Systems’ Minneapolis System Integration
Facility. The Firing Platform’s howitzer is
integrated with a fully automated ammunition handling system. The
platform, made of a combination of high-strength steel and aluminum,
incorporates a cannon assembly that is 1,200 pounds lighter than the
M777 cannon previously tested on the NLOS Cannon Concept Technology
Demonstrator. The chassis used for the self propelled gun is not the
final MGV vehicle, but a lightweight surrogate chassis that provides
performance similar to the full prototype MGV vehicle chassis.
Much of the advanced technology being developed for the NLOS Cannon
is being incorporated into the design and development of other vehicles
in the MGV family, such as the NLOS Mortar. The NLOS Mortar is being
designed by BAE Systems to have an estimated 80 percent commonality with
the NLOS Cannon chassis and mission equipment to reduce maintenance and
logistics. A NLOS Mortar Firing Platform is expected to be delivered for
testing and qualification in spring 2007.
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Armored Fighting Vehicles