WASHINGTON — The Army took two shots from its Extended-Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) system, which both reached 65 kilometers in range and hit intended targets, in a demonstration at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, on March 6, according to Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, who is in charge of Long-Range Precision Fires modernization, the Army’s top priority.
The demonstration proves the cannon is capable of firing roughly 40 miles, which is about the distance between Washington, DC and Annapolis, Maryland, and will up the service’s game should it face near-peer adversaries on the battlefield in the future.
It is unclear whether the Army was pushing its shots out to the maximum range of capability or if the projectiles are currently capable of reaching farther ranges.
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A long-range cannon is intended to give the service a desired level of standoff outside of the range of enemy artillery that can take out those threats and open up windows of opportunity to advance on the enemy in highly contested environments.
The Army’s Long-Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team under Army Futures Command has made the ERCA cannon development one of its centerpiece priorities over the past several years.
In 2018, the service was able to double the range of cannon artillery using a modified M777 howitzer by adding a supercharged propellant and the XM1113 rocket assisted projectile, which takes a 155mm artillery round and extends the cannon range to more than 60 kilometers by providing rocket-assist capability.
In the demonstration at Yuma, the Army fired — from a 58-caliber, 30-foot gun tube — a Raytheon-made Excalibur extended-range guided artillery shell and an XM1113 using supercharged propellant.
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The ERCA system in the demonstration — called the XM1299 prototype zero — was integrated by BAE Systems, the manufacturer of the M109A7 Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) howitzer.
BAE Systems received an Army contract less than a year ago in July 2019 to integrate the Army-developed cannon onto the PIM howitzer chassis and will make the first 18 prototypes..
The Army will hold an industry day for ERCA’s second increment in the next three to four months once the acquisition strategy is approved by Army leadership, Rafferty said during a media rountable following the demonstration. Once the industry day is wrapped up, the Army will be able to discuss more publicly its business relationship going into the second prototyping phase, he added.
The near-term objective on the program is to deliver approximately six batteries of the towed howitzer capabilities to be used in the field. The Army is planning to begin fielding the ERCA cannon in fiscal 2023.
The ERCA cannon is a step ahead of a bigger program to develop a strategic, long-range cannon that could shoot 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,852 kilometers.
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Army takes 40-mile shots from extended-range cannon in demo - DefenseNews.com
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