EXPAL Systems starts development of its own guidance systems.

EXPAL Systems on 10 March announced the launch of its first development of guidance systems. The company seeks to offer the armed forces ammunition with greater precision, in order to reduce collateral damage and achieve greater survivability thanks to efficiency in the mission. Another design objective that is sought is to achieve an improved anti-jamming capability.

Eimos is a demonstrator of EXPAL’s know-how in the field of mortar ammunition and integrated mortar systems, here with a 60mm mortar mounted on an Uro Vamtac ST5 (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Within its range of ammunition and components, the company has extensive experience in integrating its portfolio of ammunition with guidance kits from leading companies. With the launch announced on 10 March, EXPAL takes a definitive step towards the in-house development of this Capability: "We have completely verticalized the weapon, ammunition, propulsion and fuze, so it is a natural step to also verticalize the guidance and incorporate it into our product portfolio," explains Stéphane Plantinet, Marketing Director of the Company.

The first project, initiated in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Defense through the DGAM Coincident program, is a 120mm mortar grenade guidance system, scalable to 155mm. This system introduces improvements in the field of the algorithm, electronics and mechanical strengthening compared to existing systems. Also, as a new requirement, the scalability towards the European positioning system Galileo stands out.

"The new system responds to the needs of equipment and material of the Army marked in the Spanish Land Force 2035 project. We begin with guidance for mortar ammunition because it is a field in which we are experts," adds Plantinet.