The U.S Army has successfully fired two different munitions from its new extended range cannon
for the M109 howitzer.
According to Brig.
Gen. John Rafferty, who is in charge of long-range precision fires modernization, the U.S. Army
took two shots from its ERCA or Extended Range Cannon Artillery system, which both reached
40 miles or 65 km in range and hit their intended targets, in a demonstration at Yuma Proving
Ground, Arizona, on March 6.
Viewers may note that long-range artillery is one of the U.S Army’s top priority.
This marks a significant technical leap as currently, most artillery fires from an M777
Towed Howitzer or Self-Propelled Howitzer are able to hit targets at a maximum distance
of 18.5 miles or 30 km.
Presently U.S Army uses 227 mm guided rockets to hit targets at distances at a range of
40 miles or 65 km.
In this video Defense Updates, analyzes how the Extended Range Cannon Artillery will keep
the U.S Army one step ahead?
Let's get started.
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Artillery was important in the past and will continue to be relevant in the foreseeable
future.
An artillery barrage not only provides cover for the infantry to advance but modern artillery
can land precise fire on high-value tactical targets on the battlefield.
It is cheaper and faster than air support making them an indispensable asset for any
modern army.
Hence, all major military powers are continuing to put effort to develop better artillery
that can fire further and more accurately.
Russian Army deploys 2S19 Msta howitzer which has a range of 15 miles or around 25 km.
It entered service in the late 1980s.
Now an upgraded variant is 2S33 Msta-SM2 is being produced and deployed.
The new howitzer has a 2A79 152 mm cannon that is capable of hitting targets at ranges
up to 25 miles or 40 km.
Sometime back Gen. John Murray, Commanding General of Army Futures Command, had told
reporters at the Association of the United States Army Annual Symposium, “The Russian
and Chinese have been able to outrange most of our systems"
He added, “In Ukraine, we saw the pairing of drones with artillery, using drones as
spotters.
Their organizational structure and tactics were a wake-up call for us to start looking
at a more serious strategy”
The powerful Senate Armed Senate Armed Services Committee chairman — Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla
had told Defense News in 2018, “I’m concerned that we’re currently
behind China and Russia, both in terms of range and rate of fire.
During the eight years of [President Barack] Obama, we fell behind.
We delayed maintenance and deferred modernization — all while China and Russia were improving
their conventional forces and artillery.
We don’t have the best of everything right now, and I want to make sure we can get the
best equipment for our war fighters so they don’t face a situation where they are out-ranged
or outgunned.”
Keeping this in view, U.S Army has been working to fill this gap.
ERCA program aims to develop a package of comprehensive solutions to achieve a better
range and more precision strike capable artillery system.
As per reports, one munition was the precision-guided munition Excalibur and the other is a rocket-assisted
high-explosive projectile XM1113.
The firing was conducted from prototype howitzer’s .58 caliber, 30-foot long gun tube.
High-speed cameras captured the firing after the countdown and followed the round into
the air as it dived toward its target.
Also, radars were used to track the flight path while the round hurtles beyond 50,000
feet altitude.
The collected data from the test will be used to further optimize the system to squeeze
more range and accuracy.
Brig.
Gen. John Rafferty, director of the Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team, stated
that the U.S Army has also made progress on the auto-loader it is developing for the ERCA,
with plans to test the system in a lab this year and on a howitzer in 2021.
We will now look at new cannon and each of these shells one by one.
The cannon used was an improved Paladin, self-propelled howitzer, this one is known as ‘Prototype
Zero,’ since it is the first to employ all the improvements needed to more than double
the range of the cannon
One of the major upgrades is the length of the barrel.
The barrel length of the M109 howitzer is about 29 feet but the new one is 1 foot longer.
A longer barrel means that the explosion can have contact with the projectile for more
time, increasing the pressure and the velocity of the round, which equals greater distances.
It is to be noted that BAE Systems received a U.S Army contract in July 2019 to integrate
the U.S Army-developed cannon onto the PIM howitzer chassis, and the company will make
the first 18 prototypes.
The is a 155 mm extended range guided artillery shell developed during a collaborative effort
between the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the United States Army Armament Research,
Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC).
The Excalibur was manufactured by the prime contractor Raytheon Missile Systems and BAE
Systems AB.
It is a GPS and inertial-guided munition capable of being used in close support situations
within 75–150 m (246–492 ft) of friendly troops or in situations where targets might
be prohibitively close to civilians to attack with conventional unguided artillery fire.
The extended range is achieved through the use of folding glide fins, which allow the
projectile to glide from the top of a ballistic arc towards the target.
The XM1113 RAP is an extended range projectile that uses rocket technology to deliver greater
thrust to a round, enabling a greater range.
The traditional high explosive, TNT, inside typical artillery rounds has also been replaced
by Insensitive Munition Explosive, which is less volatile and reactive to outside stimuli,
such as rocket-propelled grenades, improvised explosive devices and extreme high temperatures.
As a replacement for the M549A1 rocket-assisted projectile round in inventory today, the new
projectile can be fuzed with a Precision Guidance Kit for improved accuracy.
Currently, divisions supporting brigade combat teams have to call on rocket forces or airpower
to deliver firepower at 40 miles or 65 km.
This increases the response time which can be the difference between life and death or
winning and losing.
The plan is to have a battalion of these new howitzers with autoloaders so that they can
neutralize target with long-range, accurate and rapid-fire.
A longer-range cannon will add this operational flexibility to the U.
S Army making it more agile in the fast-paced modern battlefield.
As per reports, the ERCA will have major enhancements like an automated fire control system with
an increased rate of fire, digital computational system and as well as satellite navigation
systems.
A 40 miles or 65 km ERCA equipped US Army howitzer substantially outrange the 25 miles
or 40 km Msta-S Russian howitzer.
In some aspects, Russian & Chinese systems have evolved to an extent that they are at
par with U.S counterparts or even surpassed them in capability.
Through programs like ERCA, the American military is plugging these holes.
Also, the US military is working on 3 other systems with the aim of having extended range
firing ability.
These are ramjet-powered shells, Hyper Velocity Projectiles (HVP) and Rail Guns.