STANAG 4385

A cut-open M829A2 cartridge according to STANAG 4385

STANAG 4385 is a NATO standard for the standardization and thus standardization of ammunition for plain-tube guns in the 120 mm caliber. The ammunition described in this standard has the caliber 120 × 570 mm. Background and technique Edit source text

The first straight canal cannon in this caliber was the German Rheinmetall 120 mm straight canal cannon L / 44, which was developed in the 1970s and 1980s for the Leopard 2 combat battalion. The standardization was required when the US Army began to use the M256-licensed cannon in the M1A1 Abrams. With the sale of Leopard 2 and Abrams combat tanks inside and outside NATO, this cannon has been widely used in the "Western World"

Later, the Rheinmetall 120 mm smooth canal gun was also used by the nearby NATO armies such as the South Korean armed forces. The 120mm straight canon of the Israeli Merkava battle armor (from version Mark III) is also compatible with the STANAG 4385, although it is not a license of the Rheinmetall cannon but was developed on the basis of it. The French Leclerc also has a cannon that can shoot ammunition according to STANAG 4385.

For the use of ammunition according to STANAG 4385, it is also decisive that the chamber geometry of the gun corresponds to the Interface Control Document (ICD). Weblinks Edit sourcetext Single-level Edit source text

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