Having Googled the Denel stuff to death, it sure looks like they are just doing it better than anyone else - building on the genius of Gerald Bull. The PFF rounds are showing up everywhere. RUAG has some great 60mm and 120mm mortar rounds using steel/tungsten balls - which transmit energy much better than ambient air does. The PFF rounds could be used in 155mm guns as well, but except for Denel's G6 they aren't being used. I find it interesting that Denel's muzzle brake is the only one to actually INCREASE the range of the gun - in addition to controlling recoil. This would appear to translate directly into potential weight savings, as the lower recoil doesn't require as much weight to control it.
I'm not convinced that platform-specific ammunition will increase logistics as actually deployed. Presumably one would field like systems together in the same theater, so all the guns in a given theater would use the same ammo and generate no added logistical requirements.
The Denel PFF rounds have another advantage - the distribution pattern is very uniform, so the "safe" zone is much more sharply defined and the round can therefore be used in urban environments or "danger close" troop support with reasonable safety. This is pointed out in the excellent .pdf provided above. Thanks, Kudos. Very informative.
An interesting note on the Denel 105 at 6k lbs is that weight is about the max weight that the new 4-bladed, up-engined UH-1Y USMC and USN Huey can lift. Five thousand would be much more comfortable, and Denel seems to invite the research $$$ to lighten their gun in their press releases so I assume it is relatively easy to accomplish in towed form. A gun with the terminal effects and range of a 155 that can be moved at 150mph - or maybe a little less in the real world - over 300 miles slung under a Huey would be pretty sweet. Talk about your "hail Marry" play! Based on GE's press releases it looks like the new engines are de-rated a bit and the ceiling of 20k ft tends to indicate that as well, implying that the new Huey would have the power at altitude to lift 5k lbs up to 10-12k ft to deliver the guns to a firebase in say Afghanistan.
Others here know more about the terminal effects of a 155 vs 105, but I would point out that adding base-bleed or rocket assist takes away from the size of the warhead, so a muzzle-brake that ADDS to range is a definite plus not only in the range dimension, but in the terminal effects dimension as well. An interesting development in mortar rounds is the use of winglets deployed at the shell's apex to extend the range by flying the last half of the trip. It appears, at least for mortar rounds, that this provides more range than rocket assist with less payload displacement and provides the basis for precision guidance.
solidpoint