The British Army has had to suspend firing high explosive ammunition from its 105 mm artillery pieces as a result of issues with the ammunition, it has emerged.
The issue has arisen following what was believed to be metal contamination in the ammunition and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has implemented a precautionary safety measure to suspend the use of the High Explosive L31 round currently in use with the L118 Light Gun by the British Army and Royal Marines.
The MoD was unable to provide further details on how this came to light, stating to IHS Jane’s that, “The safety of our Armed Forces is of paramount importance, and the manufacture and use of 105 mm live ammunition, which is used by a small number of British Army regiments, has been stopped while an isolated incident of metallic contamination is investigated. We are working with the supplier to understand when manufacture can safely restart.”
As the issue only affects live rounds the MoD confirmed that it would not impact on the training rounds.
BAE Systems who manufacture the round issued the following statement to IHS Jane’s, “We have worked closely with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to investigate the issue identified and have a comprehensive plan in place to address it. The work is taking place at a high level within both organisations to permit the lifting of the precautionary safety notice at the earliest opportunity. In the interim, BAE Systems has worked closely with the MoD to rapidly develop an Indicating High Explosive round (designated L55) to permit some elements of training to continue.”
The British Army currently has four artillery regiments that use the L118 105mm Light Gun. These include 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, and 29 Commando, part of 3 Commando Brigade.
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