Weapons

New helicopter-killing Army artillery cannon destroys target at 39.8 miles

When a precision-guided artillery projectile exploded an enemy target from 64km (39.8 miles) away in the Arizona desert during a recent live-fire exercise, the Army took a new step toward redefining land-attack tactics and paving the way toward a new warfare era in long-range fires.

In a March 2020 demonstration firing of the emerging Long Range Precision Fires program at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz., an Army Howitzer blasted an Excalibur 155m artillery round out to ranges twice that of what existing artillery weapons are now capable of. The new weapon in development, called Extended Range Cannon Artillery, not only preserves the GPS-guided precision attack options characteristic of present-day artillery, but also extends attack ranges from roughly 30km (18.6 miles) out to nearly 70km (43.5 miles). This, senior Army weapons developers explain, gives ground artillery commanders the ability to destroy previously unreachable air and ground targets.