Army artillery hits target at 38 miles, doubling range
The Army has successfully fired a 155mm artillery round 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) - marking a technical breakthrough in the realm of land-based weapons and progressing toward its stated goal of being able to outrange and outgun Russian and Chinese weapons.
“We just doubled the range of our artillery at Yuma Proving Ground,” Gen. John Murray, Commanding General of Army Futures Command, told reporters at the recent Association of the United States Army Annual Symposium.
Currently, most land-fired artillery shot from an M777 Towed Howitzer or Self-Propelled Howitzer are able to pinpoint targets out to 30km (18.6 miles) - so hitting 62km marks a substantial leap forward in offensive attack capability.
Murray was clear that the intent of the effort, described as Extended Range Cannon Artillery, is specifically aimed at regaining tactical overmatch against Russian and Chinese weapons.
“The Russian and Chinese have been able to outrange most of our systems,” Murray said.
Citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “wake-up call,” Murray explained that Russian weaponry, tactics and warfare integration caused a particular concern among Army leaders.
13 Echo! They did this by adding 6’ to the tube, are they still using RAP rounds? Yep they are:
“The ERCA program develops not only the XM907 cannon but also products, such as the XM1113 rocket-assisted projectile, the XM654 supercharge, an autoloader, and new fire control system,” an Army statement said.
Same thought here. My BIL is a DD engineer for the Navy. We were visiting him in Norfolk and talking ships and said the same- they Navy admits it can do 36 knots. But they won’t say how much over 36 knots it will do.
