Rheinmetall to develop light artillery cannon for US Army

The US Army has awarded a $2.5 million contract for American Rheinmetall Munition to develop and deliver a shorter and more lightweight artillery weapon system.

Parent company Rheinmetall said the lightweight artillery cannon would enhance the mobility, manoeuvrability and lethality of US Army artillery systems.

The company believes the new cannon will meet the long-range firing performance capability sought by the US.

The effort will support the US National Defense Strategy published in March and will also serve as an information collecting exercise for the US Army’s ongoing capability assessment for a next-generation armament.

‘We are proud to have the opportunity to support the Army in its efforts to develop next-generation long-range precision fires technologies and particularly to prototype what could be game-changing advanced, lightweight howitzer technologies,’ American Rheinmetall Munition CEO John Somich noted in a statement.

This year the DoD announced contract modifications twice for the production and delivery of M109A7 self-propelled howitzers and M992A3 tracked carrier ammunition vehicles.

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