Excalibur Ib rounds compatible with howitzer
Raytheon’s Excalibur Ib precision guided artillery round has been declared by the US Army’s Excalibur Programme Office to be fully compatible with the M198 howitzer when used with the Modular Artillery Charge System, the company announced on 21 August.
With this compatibility determined, military forces can use the 155mm Excalibur Ib precision munition when firing the M198 howitzer. The new precision round extends the range of the howitzer to 31 miles and provides an all-weather strike within 6.5ft of the target.
Mark Hokeness, programme director, Raytheon Excalibur, said: ‘Many of our international partners have an urgent need to address vital security interests, and Excalibur lb meets that need. This eliminates the time and cost of further compatibility testing in the M198 howitzer.’
The Excalibur uses GPS precision guidance technology and reduces the time, cost and logistical burden of using artillery munitions, according to Raytheon. The company is developing a laser-guided version and a sea-based, five-inch variant of the projectile.
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