TUCSON, AZ -- The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon Company a $31.8 million contract to produce and deliver 464 Excalibur Ib extended-range precision projectiles.
In full-rate production since mid-2014, Excalibur Ib has revolutionized cannon artillery, making it possible to engage targets precisely at long ranges. Excalibur is the longest-range, most precise, cannon-fired projectile in the world.
To meet the U.S. Navy's need, Raytheon is developing Excalibur N5, a 5-inch/127 mm variant that uses Excalibur Ib guidance and navigation unit and an overall re-use of 70 percent of Excalibur Ib parts and components. Additionally, the N5 uses 99 percent of the Ib system's software.
In 2015, the company test-fired Excalibur N5 at the Yuma Proving Grounds, scoring direct hits on targets more than 20 nautical miles away. The successful test demonstrated the maturity and low-risk nature of leveraging the Army's program to quickly field a much-needed, affordable U.S. Navy capability.
About Excalibur
Excalibur is a precision-guided, extended-range projectile that uses GPS guidance to provide accurate, first-round effects capability in any environment. Excalibur's level of precision creates a major reduction in the time, cost and logistical burden associated with using other artillery munitions.
•Combat-proven: Nearly 800 Excalibur rounds have been fired in combat with exceptional accuracy and lethality
•Precise: Excalibur consistently strikes less than two meters from a precisely-located target
•Responsive: Excalibur dramatically reduces mission response time
•Safe: Excalibur's precision practically eliminates collateral damage and has been employed within 75 meters of supported troops
•Affordable: With its first round effects, Excalibur reduces total mission cost and time and the user's logistics burden
•Evolving: Raytheon is adding a laser spot tracker to compensate for target location error, maintain precision in GPS denied or degraded environments, and enable engagement of relocated or moving targets
•Entering new markets: With Excalibur N5, navies will be able to deliver extended-range, precision naval surface fires
For more info, visit http://www.raytheon.com