READY FOR BLITZ: HIVE unmanned aircraft systems prepare to take flight during Project Convergence – Capstone 4 at Fort Irwin, California, in March 2024. Small UAS weigh less than 1,320 pounds and travel at speeds less than 250 knots. (Photo by Sgt. Gianna Chiavarone, 24th Theater Public Affairs Support Element)
JPEO A&A works to develop munitions to counter the growing threat of small unmanned aircraft systems.
by Lt. Col. Paul Santamaria and Maj. Jake LaGue
From fighting tanks in World War I to defeating improvised explosive devices in the Middle East, Soldiers on the battlefield have been forced to adapt and develop innovative countermeasures to emerging threat technologies. On today’s battlefield, one such emerging technology comes in the form of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which the DOD defines as Groups 1-3, weighing less than 1,320 pounds and traveling at speeds less than 250 knots. Speed is needed to counter the small UAS threat with affordable and scalable kinetic options. Unfortunately, the threat has proliferated so quickly that our processes for budgeting and programming the resources for fully developed systems, though ideal, will not bring about timely solutions.
Enter the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. The Product Manager for Medium Caliber Ammunition (PdM MC) out of the office of the Project Manager for Maneuver Ammunition Systems, along with their counterparts in the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM AC), have been on the cutting edge of providing low-cost counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) munitions designed for Groups 1 and 2 for the past seven years.
TEST FLIGHT: A small UAS flies over Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as more than 20 students from the Army, Navy and Air Force participate in the Joint C-sUAS University. Asymmetric warfare in the Middle East and large-scale combat operations in Europe have shown the effectiveness of small UAS. (Photo by Amber Osei, U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School)
THE UAS THREAT
The world has borne witness to the effects of small UAS in recent years through asymmetric warfare in the Middle East and large-scale combat operations in Europe. Small UAS are widely available, cheap to buy and easy to weaponize, with an almost endless supply to employ behind enemy lines. They can go virtually undetected to reconnoiter enemy positions, spot for artillery fire or deliver lethal payloads on troops, equipment and key infrastructure.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth stated in a February 2024 Defense Writers Group that “we in the Army have got to do more and more and more on UAS, C-UAS in terms of investing in those systems. We as a service are investing more than any other service in those areas already, but I think when you look at the threats to our Soldiers in CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command], for example, we have got to do more.” This is particularly evident when we consider that the Army is currently relying on precision missiles that can cost up to $350,000. While these missiles have a role, they should be reserved for larger targets at greater distances. Heavier emphasis is needed to invest in strengthening the inner-most layer of short-range air defense with low-cost kinetic solutions.
TEST MATCH: Soldiers test the 30 mm anti-drone XM914 chain gun on an M-LIDS in July 2023 at Udairi Range, Kuwait. (Photo by Capt. Austin May, Area Support Group – Kuwait)
NEXT WAVE OF C-UAS AMMUNITION
In 2017 and 2018, the Army issued directed requirements for the Mobile-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (M-LIDS) and the Mobile Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) platforms and mandated fielding by fiscal year 2021. These platforms come equipped with a 30 mm XM914 chain gun that integrates into the layers of short-range air defense. At the time, the Army had no existing 30 mm ammunition that was compatible with a ground-based weapon system that fires a percussion-primed cartridge. The only existing tactical 30 mm cartridge was the Apache helicopter’s electrically primed M789, which contains a shaped charge liner for light armor penetration. To provide M-LIDS and M-SHORAD with an immediate ammunition solution, the engineers at DEVCOM AC modified the M789 by swapping the electric primer for a percussion primer and added a self-destruct feature to minimize collateral damage in ground-to-air engagements. That round is the XM1198 High Explosive Dual Purpose Self-Destruct (HEDP-SD). While the XM1198 HEDP-SD can have effects against small UAS targets, it is better suited for ground-to-ground engagements because it is a point detonating round that requires a direct hit, which is quite challenging on a three-dimensionally maneuvering small UAS target at range.
To provide a more effective cartridge to defeat small UAS, PdM MC developed the next iteration of counter ammunition, the XM1211 High Explosive Proximity (HEP). In the XM1211, a proximity sensor is incorporated into the fuze while retaining the self-destruct capability. Rather than requiring a direct hit, the XM1211 just needs to get close enough for the proximity sensor to detect the target, at which point it airbursts, sending lethal fragmentation to defeat the drone. In testing, the XM1211 was demonstrated to be significantly more effective against small UAS than the XM1198, requiring fewer rounds to defeat a target. The XM1198 and XM1211 were rapidly developed and issued to select units under an urgent materiel release in fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2022 and are in limited production.
Realizing the need to retain a ground-to-ground force protection capability, the Air and Missile Defense Cross-Functional Team wrote a requirement for a single 30 mm cartridge that could rapidly transition between air and ground targets. Leveraging the proximity fuze work from the XM1211, DEVCOM AC designed a programmable proximity cartridge along with a contact fuze setter, the XM1223 Multi-Mode Proximity Airburst (MMPA), a fiscal year 2024 new-start program that achieved Technology Readiness Level 6—a system model or prototype demonstrated in a relevant environment—in technology maturation. The XM1223 combines the anti-armor capability of XM1198 HEDP-SD with the proximity airburst capability of the XM1211 HEP, along with a few new features. The XM1223 MMPA leverages a contact fuze setter that gets integrated into the XM914 chain gun that sends a programming message when the round is cycled into the weapon. XM1223 can be programmed in the following modes:
- Point detonate for lightly armored targets.
- Proximity airburst for small UAS or personnel in the open.
- Proximity airburst delay for troops in a protected position.
- Self-destruct range, customizable per engagement.
- Gated mode, which is designed to minimize collateral damage in cluttered urban environments by telling the proximity sensor to ignore ground clutter en route to the programmed target distance, so that it does not airburst prematurely.
The government development and owned technology in proximity and programmable fuzing is being explored to proliferate into different calibers—including an electrically primed version of the XM1211 HEP for the Apache helicopter, a programmable proximity airburst 40 mm cartridge for the Mk-19 Grenade Machine Gun, and a 25 mm proximity airburst cartridge to provide Bradley Fighting Vehicles an organic counter-UAS capability. The success of the 30 mm counter-UAS munitions has generated strong enthusiasm for quickly incorporating the proximity technology across the medium caliber portfolio. Though each individual munition caliber presents its own challenges, it is important to note that the proven C-UAS proximity technology is government owned, which allows the program office the opportunity to leverage and share its technical data package with industry partners to help reduce technical risks.
AIR DEFENSE: Air defenders from 5th Battalion, 4th (5-4) Air Defense Artillery Regiment conducted integrated maneuver live fire training on an M-SHORAD in June 2023 at Grafenwöhr Training Area, Germany. (Photo by Spc. Andrew Simeri, 5-4 Air Defense Artillery Regiment)
THE REQUIREMENT FOR PRODUCTION PROFICIENCY
There are still considerable challenges to overcome to provide these capabilities at scale. It’s important to note that this ammunition does nothing on its own. Ammunition is always tied to a weapon, or in most instances for medium caliber, a platform. There is a precedence to focus on platforms to provide capability, and ammunition is often left without the proper resources to develop or integrate into platforms. This results in disjointed capabilities and forces ammunition product offices to get creative through reallocation of resources in the year of execution to catch up to the platform.
All too often, ammunition development is overlooked and gets lumped in with the broader system development without giving the appropriate consideration to leveraging proven government-owned technology. As a result, the ammunition industrial base also goes overlooked and often lacks the capacity to meet current demand of these critical munitions, let alone surge capacity. This results in long production lead times, high unit costs and inconsistent quality. The XM1211 HEP proximity module contains microelectronics—which are tediously assembled by hand onto circuit boards that compete across industries—resulting in long lead times. This exacerbates the time required to produce substantial quantities of this round. All the touch labor means a higher unit price, making it challenging to provide proximity ammunition in any substantial quantity or realize cost savings through economies of scale. Another side effect of hand assembly is inconsistent quality because of undefined process control. Our industry partners are managing processes as stringently as possible, but hand assembly will never beat an automated production line.
Those components and processes are not specific to the XM1211—all medium caliber proximity-fuzed cartridges have significant overlap in parts and processes. Once a fuze is proven and ready for production, the effort required to produce that fuze in high volumes is considerable. Many hardware developers for new platforms or weapon systems do not understand the industrial base considerations of introducing new ammunition—nor is it their responsibility to. It is JPEO A&A’s responsibility to identify the proper resources to automate and upgrade production lines, especially with rapidly developed and fielded munitions. For example, JPEO A&A has recently invested in increasing the manufacturing throughput of the liquid reserve battery, a critical component that will be common across multiple proximity C-UAS munitions in the medium caliber portfolio.
There is an issue with capability developers and resource managers viewing capability from a platform perspective. They believe capability resides predominantly with the platform and budget accordingly to strengthen their warfighting function. The challenge is the C-UAS threat is not unique to any one platform or weapon system. For medium caliber ammunition, it spans various portfolios, including maneuver, Soldier, aviation and air and missile defense. To better synchronize the development of new platforms with the development of new ammunition, capability developers and resource managers should ask themselves a few critical questions when allocating resources:
- If new ammunition is required, what existing and proven technology can be leveraged to reduce risk in ammunition development?
- Does our budget request consider the appropriate resources and schedule to account for ammunition development and procurement?
- What ammunition industrial base considerations must we account for in the platform acquisition strategy?
CONCLUSION
Focused investment in the ammunition industrial base is vital. It will reduce production lead times to get enhanced capability to the warfighter as quickly as possible and enable cost reduction through high-volume orders and economies of scale. The Army cannot rely on expensive missiles for much longer to address the rapidly evolving small UAS threat. With the proper industrial base investments, medium caliber proximity-fuzed munitions can be a critical low-cost contributor to the inner-most layer of short-range air defense. The European conflict has revealed the necessity to make heavy investments in domestic production of 155 mm artillery shells. The same emphasis should be placed on the C-UAS ammunition industrial base immediately.
For more information, contact JPEO A&A Public Affairs at eric.w.kowal.civ@army.mil.
COL. PAUL SANTAMARIA is the product manager for Medium Caliber Ammunition with the Project Manager for Maneuver Ammunition Systems, assigned to the JPEO A&A at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. He holds an MBA in systems acquisition management from the Naval Postgraduate School and a B.S. in business administration from Loyola University Maryland.
MAJ. JAKE LAGUE is an assistant program manager for Medium Caliber Ammunition with Project Manager for Maneuver Ammunition Systems, assigned to the JPEO A&A. He holds an MBA in engineering management from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a B.A. in criminal justice from the University of North Florida.
