Thanks Pete, learn a new thing every day! I had an American education up to 8 years old but military slang was not on the syllabus!. Feel free to use as much slang but maybe for the more obscure a bracketed definition...just a thought. As for Crusader is it true azimuth can only be altered 20 degrees, any further they use the tracks? If this is the case what happens when the engine breaks down?....Swede

It gets REAL confusing when folks start tossing acronyms (buzzwords to the grunts) around. Folks, please translate the less common ones. That's what I read about Crusader. At least, it sounds like the turbine is being dropped for a diesel. Lack of full traverse shouldn't be a big problem, since it is an indirect-fire system. As I recall, the other large SP guns, such as the 8in & 175mm guns, have limited, or no traverse. I haven't seen pictures of M109/Paladin firing at a large angle, perhaps because of recoil. I'd still like to see the designers come up with a way to work the gun by hand if the automation quits.