French defense firm Nexter demonstrated its Caesar self-propelled howitzer’s compatibility with the Excalibur artillery projectile recently, test firing the Raytheon round in use with the US Army.
“During the demonstration, the Caesar-fired Excalibur directly struck two targets at a distance of more than 46 kilometers (28.5 miles), a record-setting range from the gun system,” Raytheon revealed.
The demonstration is important for Caesar, as the company hopes to be selected for the US Army’s new wheeled artillery system.
Moreover, it promises interoperability between the US-made munition and the French gun, which is in service with the French army and has been ordered by three other NATO members: Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Denmark.
Compatible With Other Systems
The GPS-guided round — with a “radial miss distance of less than two meters from the target” — has proven its compatibility with artillery such as the M777, M109 series, M198, the Archer, the PzH2000, and the SIAC in use with several militaries.
“Integration with Caesar now adds a level of mobility to the long-range and proven precision of Excalibur, providing the US Army and partner nations more flexibility for this advanced, versatile weapons system for contested environments,” vice president of Land Warfare & Air Defense at Raytheon Sam Deneke said.
“This success highlights the interoperability of a French howitzer with a US munition and offers our customers more options to deploy Excalibur artillery from a range of platforms.”
Other Versions
Raytheon has developed the round’s guidance system while Sweden’s BAE Systems Bofors developed its body, ballistics, and payload.
Raytheon is also developing a version with a semi-active laser seeker “to hit moving targets” and those “without accurate location information.”
The round will be able to overcome GPS jamming. The company said a sea-based, 5-inch variant is also being developed that will have double the range of conventional 5-inch munitions.