The UK MoD has awarded a contract to Tiberius Aerospace startup for the development and trials of the Sceptre 155 mm ramjet-assisted artillery shell.
UKDJ reported that Tiberius Aerospace has been awarded the contract, which marks the UK as the third country to invest in the ramjet-assisted 155 mm shells.
While Sceptre bears resemblance to the Nammo and Boeing’s jointly shell in external layout, it is radically different when it comes to internals. The most important difference is the usage of a liquid fuel ramjet with a refuelling port instead of a solid fuel one. What is more interesting is, the company claims the ramjet can use standard JP-8 fuel or even diesel.
Upon exit at Mach 2, Sceptre accelerates to Mach 3.5 and climbs to altitude using the ramjet engine. After the flameout, the munition adjusts its trajectory for both guidance and countering counter-artillery sensors like weapon-locating radars. Like the other examples, a range of about 150 km is projected with GNSS/INS guidance.
A weight of 5.2 kg is available for a warhead of choice, which can be expected from a shell that puts significant space for the propulsion section. This is comparable to the warhead allowance of rocket-assisted shells.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor:Özgür Ekşi
