Why US Army artillery needs a new Precision Guidance Kit
A new Precision Guidance Kit is being developed for use with the ERCA self-propelled howitzer system. (Photo: US Army)
Northrop Grumman Defense Systems has been awarded a US Army contract valued at $40,600,169 for development, qualification and production of the M1156E4 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK).
Current production versions of the M1156 are optimised for 155mm/39cal artillery systems including the M777 Light Towed Howitzer (LTH) and M109A6/A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzer (SPH).
The M1156E4 is essentially an Engineering Change which will allow for projectiles fitted with the PGK to be fired from the new Watervliet 155mm/58cal Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) which will be fitted to the M109 series under a major upgrade.
ERCA has a larger chamber volume and fires
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