US Army awards Raytheon $36m for Excalibur Ib
The US Army awarded Raytheon Company a $36 million contract for the final phase of the Excalibur Ib development programme. This phase concludes with warfighter tests and will qualify Excalibur Ib for fielding.
The Excalibur Ib is a long-range, precision-guided artillery projectile based on Raytheon’s combat-proven Excalibur Ia. Excalibur Ib features a non-spinning fixed base, uses fewer parts and requires simpler manufacturing than Excalibur Ia resulting in increased reliability and a significantly reduced cost.
“Raytheon has conducted more than 50 live-fire tests since August 2010, and the results from these tests have enabled our talented engineers to further refine the Excalibur Ib design,” said Michelle Lohmeier, vice president of Raytheon’s Land Combat product line. “By consistently demonstrating an unprecedented precision capability, we have high confidence in our Excalibur Ib design as the objective solution.”
Excalibur Ib was designed to grow with the needs of the warfighter and incorporates a reprogrammeming port that makes it possible for the warfighter to modify the performance of the round in response to changing threats and evolving tactics.
Excalibur is the world’s only deployed extended-range GPS-guided artillery round, and has been fired more than 300 times in theater since its early fielding in 2007. Both the US Army and Marine Corps have increased their use of this life-saving weapon over the past year.
Source: Raytheon
More from Land Warfare
-
![Laser weapon solutions are emerging as Europe confronts air defence cost imbalance]()
Laser weapon solutions are emerging as Europe confronts air defence cost imbalance
Europe’s air defence debate is increasingly shaped by the blunt economics of the field. While high-value interceptor missiles can effectively shoot down cheap drones, doing so at scale presents cost challenges.
-
![ARX Robotics expands in UK following British Army backing for uncrewed platforms]()
ARX Robotics expands in UK following British Army backing for uncrewed platforms
Following an order from the British Army, ARX Robotics has begun manufacturing autonomous ground platforms in the UK. Christopher Foss examines the company's growing range of systems.
-
![Textron unveils a smaller, low-cost variant of the Ripsaw family of UGVs]()
Textron unveils a smaller, low-cost variant of the Ripsaw family of UGVs
Ripsaw M1 has been designed to support the US Marine Corps’ littoral missions by carrying diverse types of payloads and performing multiple missions. Shephard spoke with Textron to find out more.
-
![UK plans to adopt “phased approach to restarting” British Army Ajax programme]()
UK plans to adopt “phased approach to restarting” British Army Ajax programme
The introduction of Ajax vehicles into British Army service was stopped after health issues during an exercise. However, an investigation reported “no single causal mechanism of the symptoms reported by our soldiers but rather a combination of multiple factors”.
