ARMY AL&T
PRECISION SUCCESS
PM CAS showed how an existing munition system could be pushed to meet an important Army modernization priority.
by Lt. Col. Thomas Jagielski T
he Project Manager for Combat Ammunition Systems (PM CAS) conducted the first successful U.S. test of a 70-kilometer (km), or 43-mile, shot with a precision-guided
munition on Dec. 19 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. Tis is the first U.S. Army 155 mm projectile not assisted by a rocket, to achieve this distance with accuracy.
Tis successful demonstration represents an early win for the Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team and the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A) by using a low-risk, high-payoff approach.
Te live fire demonstration used the 155 mm Excalibur projectile from the U.S. stockpile and was the culmi- nation of a campaign of learning on multiple systems. Tat campaign, which started in late 2018, was criti- cal to understanding the interaction and limitations of the new 58-caliber Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA), new propellant and the existing M982 Excal- ibur projectile. PM CAS and the Long-Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team needed to understand whether the existing Excalibur projectile could be safely fired from the ERCA system and defeat a point target at 70 km.
ACCUMULATE KNOWLEDGE The undertaking was a joint effort that brought together PM CAS, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities
Development Command – Armaments Center and industrial partners to identify, understand and reduce risks for each system within the Excalibur, as well as the cumulative risk caused by interaction among systems. Higher muzzle velocities are required to extend the range. Tis is achieved by increasing the pressure in the chamber and cannon as well as increasing the length of the cannon, thereby increasing the amount of time the projectile is exposed to the increased pressure.
Currently fielded 39-caliber systems that use the Modu- lar Artillery Charge System have maximum ranges that vary by projectile from 20 to 30 km. Potential adver- saries over the past two decades have increased their cannon artillery capability to achieve ranges of 70 km. In order to engage targets at greater ranges, U.S. forces are compelled to engage with rockets, missiles or close air support. Tis demonstration is a large step toward regaining superiority with cannon artillery systems and freeing up assets to address other targets at even longer ranges.
“Not only did the test show the design robustness of a currently fielded Excalibur projectile to demonstrate lethality at extended ranges, it did so while maintain- ing accuracy, marking a major milestone in support of Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team objectives of achieving overmatch artillery capability in 2023,” said Col. Anthony Gibbs, PM CAS's proj- ect manager.
https://asc.ar my.mil
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