The Hawkeye 105mm Mobile Artillery System is a lightweight, modular, high-performance howitzer system developed by Mandus Group. The Hawkeye will be a superior alternative to existing weapon systems such as the 106mm Recoilless Rifle, 120mm Mortar, and other 105mm artillery systems due to its low cost precision strike capability. Utilizing an inventive hydraulic system to reduce recoil, the Hawkeye was designed to lighten a tried-and-true artillery solution enough to allow such a large cannon on a small platform. By utilizing emerging technologies, it will set the standard for light artillery in the areas of firepower, tactical mobility, strategic deployability and command and control.
The artillery can fire up to eight rounds per minute via remote for three minutes or three rounds per minute sustained, and the mobility of the Humvee allows a small crew of between two and four to rapidly deploy the suspension system, fire, and get out of dodge within 60 seconds or before counter-battery fire can hit back. The deployed suspension system eases wear and tear on the Humvee compared to a 120mm system that shoots from a free chassis. It provides an ergonomic advantage by keeping the breech rear of the carriage structure in all elevations and traversing conditions allowing for easy loading and firing of standard NATO 105mm Cartridges.
The Mandus Hawkeye has incorporated a groundbreaking modular design. Due to its lightweight and low recoil forces it can be mounted to many types of military vehicles including wheeled, tracked, rail, watercraft, aircraft and towed systems. This means that a performance based 105mm artillery system can be deployed to the land, sea, and air in ways that were never before possible. Automated digital fire control and semi-fixed 105mm cartridges allow rapid emplacement and minimal time to first round fire. Additionally, the Hawkeye Weapon System offers a 360 degree field of fire while mounted on very light weight tactical vehicles.
The Hawkeye’s rate of fire is roughly equal to the towed and manually loaded and fired howitzer variants (versus the remote control fired Hawkeye), which can put out up to six rounds a minute. This sweet rate of fire loses some meaning knowing that the U.S.’s main near-peer threats, namely Russia and China, field artillery that is much longerin range the 105 mm howitzer, however this may be less of a problem on a conventional battlefield as mobility could allow the Hawkeye system to out-maneuver the longer ranged systems. This is due to the simplicity of the system’s design that reduces crew size and decreases maintenance times.
