When field reports indicated a need for changing the recoil system of the M119 howitzer, PM TAS teamed with Rock Island Arsenal and ARDEC to develop a solution that improved performance and safety and cut program costs.
by MAJ Wade Perdue M
ore than two decades have passed since the first M119 howitzer rolled off the production line at Rock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing and Technology Cen- ter (RIA-JMTC), yet it remains one of the Army’s
primary direct and indirect fire support assets. This lightweight, air-mobile, towed howitzer has been the workhorse for the Army’s infantry brigade combat teams’ direct support artillery battalions. Over the past 13 years, it has seen extensive use in both Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF and OIF). The Army has employed this howitzer in some of the most austere conditions in the world, f iring multiple-round, high-angle, high-charge mis- sions on a daily basis in support of combat troops. High-angle fire is used for f iring into or out of deep def ilade such as that found in heavily wooded, mountainous and urban areas. It is also used to fire over high-terrain features near friendly troops.
