M109A2/A3 Howitzer fires two Excalibur Ib projectiles
Raytheon and the US Army successfully fired two Excalibur Ib projectiles from a M109A2/A3 howitzer, the company announced on 6 May.
This marked the first time that the Excalibur was used with the M185 cannon and M119A2 propelling charge. Both rounds successfully guided to their targets more than 20km away.
The M109A2/A3 is an early variant of the M109-series howitzer operated by multiple armed forces worldwide. Based on these test results, these forces can now use the extended range precision capability provided by Excalibur Ib.
Mark Hokeness, Excalibur programme director, Raytheon, said: ‘With these firings, we have expanded the potential Excalibur Ib user community and proved to those countries they can add precision fires to their arsenals.
‘Excalibur provides its users with accurate, first-round effects capability in any environment and supports forces across the full spectrum of operations.’
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