Malaysia Army had accepted the offer of 24 units M109A6 «Paladin»  self propelled howitzer (SPH) from USA under the Excess Defence Articles (EDA) programme.

On the offer of M109 A5/A6 SPH by the United States under the Excess Defence Articles (EDA) programme, Raja Affandi said the Army had accepted the offer and was in the process of finalising the procurement. “If the procurement is completed, it will boost the firepower capability of the Army especially for units operating in Sabah”.

Malaysian Defence had reported on the SPH offer from the US recently. The Army is expected to field 24 M109 SPH upgraded to the latest A6 standard with another six vehicles used for spares and training.

Paladin M109A6 achieves a maximum firing rate of up to eight rounds a minute or three rounds in 15 seconds, and a sustained firing rate of one round every three minutes. The gun is operated with an automatic fire control system with ballistic computer, fitted with an optical backup.

The vehicle’s inertial positioning and navigation system is integrated with the automatic fire control system.

The 39-calibre 155mm M284 cannon, which is fitted with an M182 gun mount, has a range of 24km using unassisted rounds or 30km using assisted rounds. The projectile loading can be carried out using the full-stroke hydraulic system, or a semi-automatic loading system is optional.

A 12.7mm M2 machine gun is mounted on the right hand side of the turret.