Laser-guided Raytheon Excalibur artillery shell ushers in new era of the ability to hit a moving target

Feb. 18, 2020
Before precision-guided land artillery, 155-millimeter rounds typically were imprecise attack weapons used as area fire to blanket certain enemy areas.

WASHINGTON – Enemies hiding under a bridge, bunkered down on a specific floor in a large building, seeking cover on the back side of a mountain ridge or moving to attack in an armored vehicle convoy --- all are more vulnerable to U.S. strikes due to an emerging laser-guided artillery round that can destroy enemy targets on the move in combat. Kris Osborn at Warrior Maven reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

18 Feb. 2020 -- The laser-guided Raytheon-developed weapon is an upgrade or adaptation to the well-known, GPS-guided Excalibur 155-millimeter round first fired in Iraq more than 10 years ago.

Using GPS and Inertial measurement precision guidance technology, Excalibur can pinpoint and eliminate targets as far away as 25 miles from current U.S. Howitzers -- within just two-meters of accuracy.

The combat debut of Excalibur in Iraq ushered in what could be called a land-war transformation, marking the advent of a new kind of precision land attack with its ability to hit a moving target.

Related: Army makes big order for Excalibur satellite-guided smart munitions artillery rounds

Related: Smart munitions development relies heavily on MEMS technology

Related: Army chooses rugged accelerometers from Meggitt for testing the Excalibur smart artillery shell

John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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