The US Army has awarded BAE Systems a $72.5 million contract to continue research and development in advancing precision-guided artillery munitions.
The three-year incrementally funded contract supports the army’s XM1155-Sub Caliber program to develop a cannon-launched projectile capable of defeating fixed and moving targets in contested environments.
“We have invested heavily to innovate and develop a highly maneuverable long-range fires capability that will support soldiers on the battlefield by providing lethality against high-value targets,” BAE Systems’ Brent Butcher said.
“We look forward to partnering with DEVCOM AC (Development Command Armaments Center) to continue to advance precision-guided munitions and find the best long-range precision fires solution for the US Army.”
Double the Range of Existing Projectiles
As part of the XM1155 program, BAE test-fired a sub-caliber cannon round earlier this year that went “beyond ranges previously demonstrated by other precision-guided projectiles fired from the same type of cannon (ERCA’s 155mm XM907E2 58 caliber cannon),” the company claimed.
The British defense firm did not disclose its precise range beyond saying it is striving to double the range of existing guided munitions. However, the firm did mention that the round’s predecessor struck a target over 110 kilometers (68 miles) away during a test in early 2022.
If true, the round reached a range nearly twice that of precision-guided M982 Excalibur artillery rounds that can strike a target up to 57 kilometers (35 miles) away.
It is also a substantial jump over the 43-mile (63 kilometers) range clocked by the ERCA cannon using Excalibur rounds in 2020.