ABSTRACT
The British 5–5 inch gun is deployed with field force and reserve units, and the smaller 25 pounder is both a practice gun for the Royal Artillery and on active service with the Oman Artillery. Artillery must match the high off-road mobility of armour and infantry. Western nations have been led by these factors to adopt self-propelled (SP) artillery while the Warsaw Pact countries continue to rely on towed guns. France follows the NATO preference for SP close support artillery, but, like Britain, relies on 105 mm weapons in this role. The standard NATO nuclear piece is the 203 mm but there are strong indications that the warhead can be made sufficiently compact to fit into the 155 mm and eventually into the 105 mm. A great deal depends on the research and development into mini-nukes. This leads to the demand for greater accuracy; already of great importance as regards the delivery of the existing range of battle-field nuclear weapons and also conventional shell.
