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“Smart” ordinance is all the rage these days, what with the birth of the XM-25 computer controlled grenade launcher and the potential death of suppressive fire. The wunderkinds at Raytheon are thinking a bit bigger. army-technology.com reports that Ray Ray’s fired four (cout ’em four) rounds of the company’s new Excalibur 155mm precision-guided artillery projectiles from a G6 self-propelled howitzer during field trials. “During the trials, multiple rounds of the Excalibur successfully landed within 5m of the target, following launch from a distance of 38km by [a] Denel-manufactured howitzer.” Which is just as well; Raytheon’s designed the round for “close quarters combat” in “urban environments.” Yes, well, “The system was deployed [not in the G6] by the US Army and the Marine Corps to Afghanistan in 2011 to defeat fleeting and persistent targets.” So not that close, eh Mr. Bond?
I just whipped this up on the CAD program here, and assuming 5m either side of the target for a 10 m spread over 38km is less than 1 minute of angle accuracy. So this is basically a VERY long range and accurate varmit rifle.
this technology is old. i remember watching Ze Germans do this on some tv show. possibly future weapons, but i don’t remember. still awesome technology though.
“Which is just as well; Raytheon’s designed the round for “close quarters combat” in “urban environments.” ”
Hey, that’s what half-kiloton nukes are for.
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