Excalibur Ib continues to find its target
Excalibur Ib all up rounds have demonstrated ‘exceptional’ accuracy during 84 firings of the precision-guided weapon during testing at Yuma Proving Ground. Raytheon reported that the majority of rounds landed within two metres of their targets.
The Excalibur Ib is a155mm extended-range artillery projectile based on the combat-proven Excalibur Ia-1 and Ia-2. It uses GPS precision guidance to provide accurate, first round, fire-for-effect capability in any environment.
The test series included qualification on the Swedish Archer 52-caliber weapons system and two US Army howitzers, the Paladin and LW 155. The tests also certified stringent performance and safety requirements. Future testing this year will include a First Article Test, which will verify Excalibur Ib production readiness.
Lt. Col. Josh Walsh, the US Army Excalibur program manager, said: ‘Excalibur achieved new firsts during qualification testing. We demonstrated lethal effects at 50.7km range from the Swedish Archer weapon system while the US gun systems reached 40.54km – exceeding objective requirements.’
Michelle Lohmeier, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Land Warfare Systems product line, added: ‘Excalibur Ib will provide the warfighter with the most accurate, extended-range artillery option. This updated round will provide the soldier in the field with greater range, increased accuracy and less collateral damage.’
Raytheon is also working to enhance the 155mm Excalibur GPS-guided projectile with new guidance and navigation capabilities under an internally funded programme.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
![Thales to modernise Netherlands TACTIS combined arms trainer]()
Thales to modernise Netherlands TACTIS combined arms trainer
Thales will modernise the Royal Netherlands Army’s TACTIS simulation system over eight years with enhanced synthetic environments, new simulators for the CV9035NL, Boxer and Leopard 2 tanks.
-
![Hanwha contracted to develop radar for South Korean missile defence]()
Hanwha contracted to develop radar for South Korean missile defence
Hanwha will develop the multi-function radar of the Low Altitude Missile Defense (LAMD), work which is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2028.
-
![Anduril Industries unveils improved electromagnetic warfare system]()
Anduril Industries unveils improved electromagnetic warfare system
Pulsar-L has already entered service and weighs about 12kg with range of 5km. It was only in May last year that the company disclosed that earlier versions were already in service.
-
![Polaris to unveil new MRZR Alpha base vehicle at Modern Day Marine]()
Polaris to unveil new MRZR Alpha base vehicle at Modern Day Marine
The new platform was designed to provide 1KW of exportable power as standard and has been developed in partnership with the US Marine Corps (USMC).
-
![British Army details Ajax plans]()
British Army details Ajax plans
Of the six variants in the Ajax programme – reconnaissance (Ajax), reconnaissance support (Ares), C2 (Athena), equipment repair (Apollo), equipment recovery (Atlas) and engineering reconnaissance (Argus) – the Ajax reconnaissance version is now entering service.
