Article Posted on : - Jun 25, 2014

Excalibur 155mm precision-guided, extended-range projectile is the artillery round used in theater today by the US Army and Marine Corps. Photo: Raytheon.

PARIS (BNS): Raytheon Company successfully fired the dual-mode GPS- and laser-guided Excalibur S for the first time.

Although the Excalibur S was initialised with a GPS target location, it scored a direct hit on a different, or offset, target after being terminally guided with a laser designator.

The new variant incorporates a laser spot tracker (LST) into the combat-proven Excalibur Ib projectile, the world's most precise GPS guided 155mm artillery projectile now in production for the US Army and several international customers.

This test validated the LST's ability to survive the forces of firing from a 155mm howitzer and then successfully hand off from the GPS to guide to a laser spot on the designated target.

"The performance of Excalibur S is very impressive and I am extremely encouraged by Raytheon's commitment to the next generation of Excalibur," Lieutenant Colonel Josh Walsh, US Army Excalibur Product Manager, was quoted as saying in the company news release.

The Raytheon-funded Excalibur S builds on the GPS-guided Excalibur Ib variant.

The addition of the LST will enable the warfighter to attack moving targets, engage targets that have re-positioned after firing, or change the impact point to further avoid casualties and collateral damage.

Excalibur is a precision guided projectile that provides warfighters a first round effects capability in nearly any environment.