Rheinmetall Weapons and Ammunition (division of the German group Rheinmetall) conducted fire tests of the new Next Generation tank gun (NG) 130, installed on a modernized Challenger tank 2.
130-mm the gun has a barrel length 51 caliber (L51) and uses new high-strength steel and barrel chrome plating. Installed vertical wedge shutter and electric trigger of the shot. The gun has an increased chamber volume, which allows the use of an increased charge to obtain a higher initial velocity of the projectile and its armor penetration. The gun has a heat-insulating casing and a barrel bending control system.
Actual barrel length is 6,63 m, total weight of the gun – 3 tons, including recoil mechanisms. This does not take into account the weight of the mounting elements for installation in the tower..
The first 130 mm ammunition has already been developed for the gun. As stated by Rheinmetall, it was an armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile with a detachable pallet (APFSDS-T) with semi-combustible sleeve, new high-energy powder charge, detonation-insensitive, and a new, improved long-length tungsten armor-piercing core with increased armor penetration.
On the development of a promising 130-mm smooth-bore tank gun Next Generation (NG) 130 and sending the first prototype for field tests in the press service of Rheinmetall reported in December 2019 of the year. Rheinmetall plans to offer this gun as a potential weapon for a promising new generation combat vehicle of the US Army Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV).
