Denel of South Africa has developed an improved variant of the 155mm towed G5 howitzer. Known as the G5-2000, it replaces the 45-caliber barrel of the G5 with the longer 52-caliber barrel from the T6 self-propelled howitzer. The G5-2000 also uses parts of the T6 loading system (semi-automatic loading of the charge and projectile, fully automatic loading of the primer) and the T6's ring-laser gyro (which provides more accurate laying of the gun). The G5-2000 can reach 41km with base-bleed ammunition and 52.5km with rocket-boosted projectiles. --Stephen V Cole