Excalibur, named after the mythical sword of King Arthur, was developed as a longer-range alternative to conventional artillery shells, with GPS guidance for improved accuracy.[12] Excalibur has a range of approximately 40 to 57 kilometers (25 to 35mi) depending on configuration, with a circular error probable (CEP) of four meters (13ft),[13][14][15][16][17][18] while unguided Western artillery shells can land up to 150 meters (490ft) from the target at a range of 24km (15mi). While much more expensive at $68,000 per shell compared to an $800 unguided M777 shell, it is less expensive than the $150,000 rocket used in US guided-missile systems like M142 HIMARS and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System.[19] Excalibur's extended range is achieved through the use of folding glide fins, which allow the projectile to glide from the top of a ballistic arc toward the target. A lower cost alternative to the Excalibur is to use the US Army designed M1156 Precision Guidance Kit to turn existing 155mm shells into precision weapons.[20]
The munition was co-developed by United States-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense (guidance system) and the Swedish BAE Systems Bofors (body, base, ballistics, and payload).[12] Excalibur is used to minimize collateral damage, for targets beyond the range of standard munitions, for precise firing within 150 meters (490ft) of friendly troops, or when terrain prevents direct fire.[12][21] It has a multi-function fuze that can be programmed to explode in the air, once it hits a hard surface, or after it penetrates a target.[22] One Excalibur projectile can accurately hit an intended target that would require the use of between 10 and 50 unguided artillery rounds.[23]
Initial combat experience with Excalibur in Iraq in the summer of 2007 was highly successful, with 92% of rounds falling within four meters (13ft) of their targets. Its performance was so impressive that the U.S. Army planned to increase production to 150 rounds per month from the previous 18 rounds per month.[24][25] In 2012, Excalibur rounds reached new record ranges in combat of 36 kilometres (22mi).[26] In December 2020, the round was successfully tested out to a range of 43.5mi (70km) using a supercharged propellant out of a 58-caliber-long Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) gun tube.[27][28]
Self-propelled guns compatible with the Excalibur projectile are the American M109A6 Paladin and M109A7, British AS-90, German PzH 2000, South African G6, Swedish Archer and French Caesar. Towed guns compatible with the Excalibur projectile are the American M198 and M777 howitzers.[29] According to media, Excalibur ammunition was also used with AHS Krab in 2022 in combat in Ukraine, obtaining range above 40km (25mi).[30]
The Excalibur has been shown to be vulnerable to GPS jamming. When shells were first supplied to Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they initially hit targets with a 70% efficiency rate. However, within six weeks the Russians had adapted their electronic warfare systems and reduced its efficiency to only 6%.[32]
Variants
There are three versions of the system. Initial development effort was toward Increment I; Milestone C decisions were to be made on Increment II and III in FY2013, with a demonstration of those capabilities by 2020.[2]
Increment I has a unitary penetrating warhead for use against stationary targets.
Increment Ia-1: Accelerated development, reduced-range round. Entered service in 2007.[33] (XM982)[34]
Increment Ia-2: Extended-range round with resistance to GPS jamming. (M982)[34]
Excalibur S: In June 2013, Raytheon initiated an internally funded program to upgrade the Excalibur Ib with additional semi-active lasertargeting capability. The SAL seeker allows the shell to attack targets that have re-positioned after firing or are moving, and to change the impact point to avoid collateral damage.[35][36]
Excalibur N5: Version of the Excalibur S downsized into a 127mm (5.0in) shell to give naval guns mounted on destroyers and cruisers the ability to fire extended-range guided projectiles. Raytheon was also considering a millimeter wave seeker for fire-and-forget operations.[8]
Excalibur HTK: Excalibur HTK has an armor-penetrating warhead and leverages the proven StormBreaker smart weapon design. It autonomously locates a target with an all-weather seeker that is effective against moving and imprecisely located targets. [37]
Excalibur EST: Excalibur Shaped Trajectory, allows the shell to make its final approach at an angle; demonstrated in August 2018 and deployed shortly thereafter.[11]
Increment II "Smart" projectile for moving and time-sensitive targets.[2] May carry either 65 DPICM or two SADARMsubmunitions.[12]
The first operational use of M982 Excalibur, against a suspected insurgent safe house north of Baghdad on 5 May 2007US Army artillerymen preparing an M982 Excalibur round for firing in Afghanistan, 2008
Excalibur started as a development program in 1992. The Operational Requirements Document (ORD) of May 1997 called for 200,000 rounds of an unguided munition with increased range at an estimated cost of $4,000/round, and Texas Instruments was awarded the initial EMD contract on 23 January 1998. In November 2001 the volume was cut to 76,677 rounds and soon after this was further reduced to 61,483,[38] but the developers were encouraged by the Indian experience of using Russian Krasnopol guided shells against Pakistani bunkers in the Kargil War of 1999.[39]
In March 2004 the program was merged with a Swedish/U.S. program to create Trajectory Correctable Munitions, reflected in a new ORD in September 2004 which removed the Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition "cluster bomb" variant in favor of the discriminating munition variant. Later that year the U.S. Army reduced its planned order to 30,000 rounds. Low-rate production of 500 rounds was approved in May 2005 and Raytheon was awarded a contract to produce 165 rounds in June 2005,[38] worth $22.1 million.[40] In September of that year, the round was successfully demonstrated at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.[41] Raytheon was awarded a $42.7 million contract for production of 335 Excalibur projectiles and related test articles and services in June 2006 for that fiscal year.[42]
In August 2006, technical problems relating to environmental sensitivity and GPS signal lock were discovered, pushing the expected in-service date to spring 2007.[33][43] Testing in September demonstrated an actual average CEP of 5m (20ft) or better.[44]
Increment Ia-1 completed testing in early 2007 and in April that year the U.S. Army approved an Urgent Material Release to allow deployment to Iraq.[2] The Excalibur was first operationally fired in Iraq in May 2007.[45] Increment Ia-2 achieved a 40 kilometers (25mi) range in a live-fire demonstration in April 2007 and in July the Army Acquisition Executive approved the Milestone C decision for Ia-2 to enter low-rate production.[2] The munition was developed with US$55.1 million in financial assistance from Sweden, which expected to receive service rounds in 2010. The Excalibur debuted in Afghanistan in February 2008.[22] The Australian Army ordered US$40 million of Excalibur rounds in October 2007, an order revised in April 2008 to an estimated US$58 million.[46][47] In 2008 unit cost was US$85,000.[48]
In September 2008 both Raytheon and Alliant Techsystems were awarded competitive development contracts for Increment Ib mass production,[38] but Raytheon secured the final manufacturing contract in August 2010.[49] Test firings of Increment Ia-1 rounds in March 2009 revealed that the Honeywell inertial measurement unit was not up to standard, and it was replaced by a unit from Atlantic Inertial Systems. In April 2010 the U.S. Army's planned order was cut further, from 30,000 rounds to 6,264, which increased the unit cost sufficiently that it triggered an investigation under the Nunn–McCurdy Amendment. Normally a Nunn-McCurdy breach signals a program in trouble, but a 2012 RAND report concluded that the unit cost increases were caused by the cuts in procurement numbers: fewer shells were needed for the same effect, due to the improved accuracy of modern artillery.[38]
The Excalibur gives U.S. brigade commanders a precision weapon that is locally available, regardless of weather conditions (unlike bombs dropped from aircraft). Because the M982 is so accurate, the risks of friendly-fire casualties and collateral damage are no longer deterrents to using gun artillery in urban environments, and the Excalibur is sometimes called in only 50m (160ft) away from friendly infantrymen. In February 2012, a U.S. Marine Corps M777 howitzer in Helmand province, Afghanistan, fired a single Excalibur round that killed a group of insurgents at a Marine-record range of 36 kilometers (22mi).[50]
In December 2012, Raytheon received a $56.6 million contract for low-rate initial production of Excalibur Ib projectiles.[51] On 10 September 2013, Raytheon received a $54 million contract for a second lot of Excalibur Ib artillery rounds. The Excalibur Ib has improved reliability and lower unit cost than the previous Excalibur Ia-1 and Ia-2. At the time of the award, over 690 Excalibur projectiles had been fired in theater.[52] In February 2014, the U.S. Army and Raytheon fired 30 Excalibur Ib shells at test targets to confirm the performance and reliability of the configuration before full-rate production. Projectiles were fired from Paladin and M777 howitzers at ranges from 7 to 38km (4.3 to 24mi), each hitting within an average of 1.6m (5ft 3in) from the target.[23]
On 3 April 2014, the last Excalibur Ia projectile was assembled, signaling the transition to Increment Ib focus. Over 6,500 Ia shells were delivered to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as well as several international customers.[53] Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) for the Excalibur Ib was completed in May 2014, moving the projectile closer to full-rate production. Testing of the Excalibur Ib averaged a miss distance of less than 2m (6.6ft).[54] On 31 July 2014, Raytheon received a $52 million contract to begin full-rate production of the Excalibur Ib shell.[55]
In June 2014, Raytheon successfully test-fired its Excalibur S shell with a dual-mode GPS/SAL guidance system. The variant incorporates a laser spot tracker (LST) into the Excalibur Ib shell. The test was to validate the LST's ability to survive being fired from a howitzer and was initialized with GPS coordinates, then a laser designator guided the round to the target.[56] In February 2020, Raytheon announced the Excalibur S had been successfully tested against a moving target using its laser seeker.[57]
In April 2024, Hanwha Aerospace conducted test fires of the M982A1 Excalibur Increment Ib at Yuma Proving Ground using Norwegian K9 VIDAR variant. The K9 used various fuze modes and achieved less than one meter CEP in Point Detonating mode and 5 meters above the target in Height of Burst mode from 50 km away.[58][59]
Excalibur N5
In September 2015, Raytheon conducted a live fire guided test flight of the Excalibur N5, a company-funded initiative to reduce the 155mm Excalibur shell to 127mm (5") for use with naval guns mounted on destroyers and cruisers.[9] The Excalibur Ib and N5 have 70% commonality, 99% identical software, and the same guidance and navigation unit (GNU). Its primary uses would be to allow warships to accurately fire shells against land targets in support of troops ashore and inexpensively destroy fast attack craft (FAC) at longer ranges.[8]
Unguided 127mm (5.0in) shells from Mark 45 naval guns have a range of 13nmi (15mi; 24km), but can deliver accurate fire only out to 8nmi (9.2mi; 15km), while small cruise missile-carrying attack boats can launch from 15–20nmi (17–23mi; 28–37km) away. Like the land-based version, the Excalibur N5's guidance fins pop out after launch to glide the round out to longer ranges before turning nose-down and diving to the target, extending range to 20–26nmi (23–30mi; 37–48km) depending on gun barrel length; although range would be greater with rocket assistance, cost would also be greater. Alternative seekers will be added to hit maneuvering targets, such as laser guidance that requires a spotter to designate it, and millimeter wave radar that needs no outside guidance.[8]
The M198 is a medium-sized, towed 155 mm artillery piece, developed for service with the United States Army and Marine Corps. It was commissioned to be a replacement for the World War II-era M114 155 mm howitzer. It was designed and prototyped at the Rock Island Arsenal in 1969 with firing tests beginning in 1970 and went into full production there in 1978. It entered service in 1979 and since then 1,600 units have been produced.
A mortar today is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded cannon, consisting of a smooth-bore metal tube fixed to a base plate with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition. Historically mortars were heavy siege artillery. Mortars launch explosive shells in high-arching ballistic trajectories.
The G6, sometimes denoted as the G6 Rhino, is a South African self-propelled howitzer. It was developed as a turreted, self-propelled variant of the G5 howitzer series, mating the gun to a six-wheeled mine-protected armoured chassis. Design work on the G6 began in the late 1970s to replace the obsolescent Sexton being retired from service with the artillery regiments of the South African Army. Serial production commenced between 1988 and 1999.
The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the War in Afghanistan.
The M712 Copperhead is a 155 mm caliber cannon-launched guided projectile. It is a fin-stabilized, terminally laser guided, explosive shell intended to engage hard point targets such as tanks, self-propelled howitzers or other high-value targets. It may be fired from different artillery pieces, such as the M114, M109, M198, M777 and CAESAR howitzers. The projectile has a minimum range of 3 km (1.9 mi) and a maximum range of 16 km (9.9 mi).
The XM1111 Mid-Range Munition (MRM) is a 120 mm precision guided munition developed for the Rheinmetall Rh-120 120mm gun used by several Western tanks. It was also intended to fulfill a requirement for Future Combat Systems (canceled) for a long-range, beyond line of sight (BLOS) tank munition.
The XM395 Precision Guided Mortar Munition (PGMM) is a 120 mm guided mortar round developed by Alliant Techsystems.
The MO-120 RT or MO-120-RT is a French heavy mortar. The RT in the designator stands for rayé, tracté, which means rifled, towed. The MO-120-RT is currently used by the French Army, and has also been exported to more than 24 foreign countries or in some cases, produced under licence. It is issued to artillery units, where it complements artillery guns and systems; although infantry units operate it in some countries.
The Archer artillery system, or Archer – FH77BW L52, or Artillerisystem 08, is a Swedish self-propelled howitzer system. The main piece of the system is a fully automated 155 mm L52 (52-calibre-long) gun-howitzer and a M151 Protector remote-controlled weapon station mounted on a modified 6×6 chassis of the Volvo A30D all-terrain articulated hauler. The crew and engine compartment is armoured and the cab is fitted with bullet and fragmentation-resistant windows. The system also includes an ammunition resupply vehicle, a support vehicle, Bonus submunitions, and M982 Excalibur guided projectiles.
The Extended Range Guided Munition was a precision guided rocket-assisted 5-inch (127 mm) shell (projectile) development by Raytheon for the U.S. Navy. The program was cancelled in March 2008 after twelve years of development and over 600 million dollars in funding. The developmental round was designated EX 171.
The Ballistic Trajectory Extended Range Munition (BTERM) was a failed program to develop a precision guided rocket-assisted 127 mm (5-inch) artillery shell for the U.S. Navy. The program was originally named the Autonomous Naval Support Round (ANSR) and was developed by Alliant Techsystems.
The Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) is a canceled precision guided 155 mm (6.1 in) naval artillery shell for the U.S. Navy's Advanced Gun System (AGS). LRLAP was developed and produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, the prime contractor being BAE Systems.
The M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK), formerly XM1156, is a U.S. Army-designed precision guidance system to turn existing 155 mm artillery shells into smart weapons. The prime contractor was Alliant Techsystems – later merging with Orbital Sciences Corporation to form Orbital ATK, in turn being taken over by Northrop Grumman and renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems – and the industry team includes Interstate Electronics Corporation. By April 2018, more than 25,000 PGKs had been produced.
The 2K25 Krasnopol is a Soviet 152/155 mm cannon-launched, fin-stabilized, base bleed-assisted, semi-automatic laser-guided artillery weapon system. It automatically 'homes' on a point illuminated by a laser designator, typically operated by a drone or ground-based artillery observer. Krasnopol projectiles are fired mainly from Soviet self-propelled howitzers such as the 2S3 Akatsiya and 2S19 Msta-S and are intended to engage small ground targets such as tanks, other direct fire weapons, strong-points, or other significant point targets visible to the observer. It can be used against both stationary and moving targets.
A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a guided munition intended to hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the Persian Gulf War guided munitions accounted for only 9% of weapons fired, but accounted for 75% of all successful hits. Despite guided weapons generally being used on more difficult targets, they were still 35 times more likely to destroy their targets per weapon dropped.
Cannon-launched guided projectiles (CLGP) are precision-guided munitions launched by howitzers, mortars, tank guns, and naval guns. Those projectile main propulsion system is the initial kinetic shoot, directed as much as possible toward the target. A secondary GPS or geocoordinates-based system then corrects the trajectory to increase target accuracy and fall closer to the target. This system relies on electronic guidance and pre-programmed coordinates, submitted to the round before its launch.
The M795 155 mm projectile is the US Army and US Marine Corps' standard 155 mm High Explosive (HE) projectile for howitzers. It is a bursting round with fragmentation and blast effects.
The M549 is a high-explosive rocket-assisted (HERA) 155 mm howitzer round developed for use by the US military in order to add additional range to standard howitzers, with a maximum range 30.1 km (18.7 mi) from a M198 howitzer. The projectile has two distinctive pre-assembled components—the high-explosive (HE) warhead and the rocket motor, making it a form of rocket-assisted projectile. The warhead is fabricated from high-fragmentation steel for increased effectiveness in terms of damage caused to target and contains a bulk-filled explosive.
The M1128 "Insensitive Munition High Explosive Base Burn Projectile" is a 155 mm boosted artillery round designed to achieve a maximum range of 30–40 kilometres (19–25 mi). It is used for fragmentation and blast effect against personnel and/or materiel. The development of this round follows testing of boosted M795-series test projectiles. The M1128 is not yet in production, but the first successful test firings have already taken place.
The BONUS or ACED is a 155 mm guided artillery cluster round co-developed and manufactured by Bofors of Sweden and Nexter of France. It was designed to fulfill a long range, indirect fire, top attack requirement against armoured fighting vehicles.
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