Raytheon wins $36 million U.S. Army contract to complete Excalibur Ib development

TUCSON, Ariz., 30 June 2011. Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN) won from the U.S. Army a $36 million contract for the Excalibur Ib development program’s final phase, which concludes with warfighter tests and qualifying the system for fielding. The Excalibur Ib long-range, precision-guided artillery projectile features a non-spinning fixed base, uses fewer parts, and requires simpler manufacturing than Raytheon's Excalibur Ia, resulting in increased reliability and a 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," says 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 incorporates a reprogramming port that enables the warfighter to modify the performance of the round in response to changing threats and evolving tactics.

Excalibur is reportedly the only deployed extended-range, GPS-guided artillery round.