United States Army to purchase 216 M982 Excalibur precision-guided artillery shells Raytheon 2212132

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Defence & Security News - Raytheon
 
 
Sunday, December 22, 2013 11:53 AM
 
United States Army to purchase 216 M982 Excalibur precision-guided artillery shells from Raytheon.

The U.S. Army has awarded Raytheon Company a $15 million contract modification for the procurement of 216 Excalibur Ib rounds. The M982 Excalibur precision-guided, extended-range artillery shell is a fire-and-forget smart munition with better accuracy than existing 155-millimeter artillery rounds. These shells are fin-stabilized, and are designed to glide to targets with base bleed technology, as well as with canards located at the front of the munition that create aerodynamic lift.
     

Excalibur M982 is a 155mm, Global Positioning System (GPS)-guided, extended-range artillery projectile, in use as the Army’s next-generation cannon artillery precision munition.
     

Excalibur is a 155mm precision-guided, extended-range projectile that uses GPS guidance to provide accurate, first-round effects capability in any environment. By using Excalibur's level of precision, there is a major reduction in the time, cost and logistical burden associated with using other artillery munitions. Analyses have shown it can take 10 to 50 conventional munitions to accomplish what one Excalibur can.

Although the M982 is perhaps the longest-range artillery ammunition in the U.S. arsenal, it has the ability to be fired nearly straight up from positions in cities or hilly terrain and engage its precision-guidance system at high altitudes, and detect and attack moving targets -- even individual vehicles -- with an accuracy of better than 19m from the desired aim point.

Raytheon is also funding a program to augment its combat-proven 155mm GPS-guided projectile with a laser spot tracker seeker, giving the weapon a dual-mode capability. The company is planning a live-fire demonstration of the "Excalibur-S" early next year.

Excalibur is a cooperative program between Raytheon and BAE Systems Bofors AB.