The M982 Excalibur (previously XM982) is a
155 mm extended-range
guided artillery shell developed in a collaborative effort between the
U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the
(ARDEC). The Excalibur was developed and/or manufactured by prime contractor
Raytheon Missiles & Defense,
BAE Systems AB
BAE Systems AB is subsidiary holding company for the Swedish assets of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems.
The portfolio in 2020 contained the companies ''Systems C-ITS'', involved ...
(
BAE Systems Bofors) and other subs and primes in multiple capacities such as
Camber Corporation
Camber Corporation was a defense contractor headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. It was acquired by Huntington Ingalls Industries on December 2, 2016, and was reorganized as a division within that company. Once that reorganization was completed ...
and
Huntington Ingalls Industries
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 375 on the Fortune 500, was formed ...
. It is a
GPS and
inertial-guided munition capable of being used in close support situations within of friendly troops or in situations where targets might be
prohibitively close to civilians to attack with conventional unguided artillery fire. In 2015, the United States planned to procure 7,474 rounds with a
FY 2015 total program cost of
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
1.9341 billion at an average cost of US$258,777 per unit.
By 2016, unit costs were reduced to US$68,000 per round.
[Excalibur Goes To Sea: Raytheon Smart Artillery Shoots Back](_blank)
– Breakingdefense.com, 12 January 2016 Versions that add
laser-guidance capability and are designed to be fired from
naval guns began testing in 2015.
[ Program cost is $1,934.1m (FY15) of which $790.4m is procurement cost, for 7,474 rounds for the US Army]["Raytheon's combat-proven Excalibur moves closer to sea-based application."](_blank)
– Raytheon news release, 30 September 2015[http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2016-02-16-US-Army-awards-Raytheon-31-8-million-contract-for-continued-Excalibur-production – Raytheon news release, 16 February 2016. Contract amount was $31.8 million for 464 rounds.] By October 2018, over 1,400 rounds had been fired in combat.
. ''Army Recognition''. 9 October 2018.
Description
Excalibur, named after the
mythical sword of King Arthur, was developed as a longer-range alternative to conventional artillery shells, with
GPS guidance for improved accuracy.
Excalibur has a range of approximately depending on configuration, with a
circular error probable
Circular error probable (CEP),Circular Error Probable (CEP), Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Technical Paper 6, Ver 2, July 1987, p. 1 also circular error probability or circle of equal probability, is a measure of a weapon s ...
(CEP) of , while unguided Western artillery shells can land up to from the target at a range of . While much more expensive at $68,000 per shell compared to an $800 unguided M777 shell, it is less expensive than the $150,000 rocket used in US guided-missile systems like
M142 HIMARS and
M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System.
Excalibur's extended range is achieved through the use of folding glide fins, which allow the
projectile
A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found ...
to glide from the top of a
ballistic arc toward the target. A lower cost alternative to the Excalibur is to use the US Army designed
M1156 precision guidance kit
The M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK), formerly XM1156, is a U.S. Army-designed precision guidance system to turn existing 155 mm artillery shells into smart weapons. to turn existing 155 mm shells into precision weapons.
[XM1156 precision guidance kit (PGK)](_blank)
Global Security.
The munition was co-developed by United States-based
Raytheon Missiles & Defense (guidance system) and the Swedish
BAE Systems Bofors (body, base, ballistics, and payload).
Excalibur is used to minimize
collateral damage
"Collateral damage" is a term for any incidental and undesired death, injury or other damage inflicted, especially on civilians, as the result of an activity. Originally coined to describe military operations, it is now also used in non-milit ...
, for targets beyond the range of standard munitions, for precise firing within of friendly troops, or when terrain prevents
direct fire
Direct fire or line-of-sight fire refers to firing of a ranged weapon whose projectile is launched directly at a target within the line-of-sight of the user. The firing weapon must have a sighting device and an unobstructed view to the target, ...
.
It has a multi-function fuze that can be programmed to explode
in the air
IN, In or in may refer to:
Dans
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Independen ...
, once it hits a hard surface, or after it penetrates a target.
[Picatinny's GPS-guided Excalibur artillery round deemed 'amazingly accurate' by troop](_blank)
– Army.mil, 11 September 2008 One Excalibur projectile can accurately hit an intended target that would require the use of between 10 and 50 unguided artillery rounds.
– Armyrecognition.com, 8 February 2014
Initial combat experience with Excalibur in
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
in the summer of 2007 was highly successful, with 92% of rounds falling within of their targets. Its performance was so impressive that the U.S. Army planned to increase production to 150 rounds per month from the previous 18 rounds per month. In 2012, Excalibur rounds reached new record ranges in combat of . In December 2020, the round was successfully tested out to a range of using a supercharged propellant out of a 58-caliber-long
Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) gun tube.
Self-propelled guns compatible with the Excalibur projectile are the American
M109A6 Paladin
The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s to replace the M44 self-propelled howitzer, M44 and M52 self-propelled howitzer, M52. It has been upgraded a number of ...
and M109A7, British
AS-90
The AS-90 ("Artillery System for the 1990s"), known officially as Gun Equipment 155 mm L131, is an armoured self-propelled artillery formerly used by the British Army and subsequently donated for use by Ukrainian Army.
It can fire standa ...
, German
PzH 2000
The Panzerhaubitze 2000 (), meaning "armoured howitzer 2000" and abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm Self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer developed by KNDS Deutschland (formerly Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW)) and Rheinmetall in the 198 ...
, South African
G6, Swedish
Archer and French
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...
. Towed guns compatible with the Excalibur projectile are the American
M198 and
M777
The M777 howitzer is a British towed artillery, towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the Australian Army, ground forces of Australia, Canadian Army, Canada, Colombia, Indian Army, India, Saudi Arabian Army, Saudi Ar ...
howitzers. According to media, Excalibur ammunition was also used with
AHS Krab in 2022 in combat in Ukraine, obtaining range above .
The
U.S. Navy had considered using the Excalibur in the
''Zumwalt''-class destroyer's
Advanced Gun System
The Advanced Gun System (AGS) is a naval artillery system developed and produced by BAE Systems Armaments & Services for the ''Zumwalt''-class destroyer of the United States Navy. Designated the 155 mm/62 (6.1-inch) Mark 51 Advanced Gun Sy ...
following the cancelation of the
Long Range Land Attack Projectile
The Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) is a canceled precision guided naval artillery shell for the U.S. Navy's Advanced Gun System (AGS). LRLAP was developed and produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, the prime contrac ...
, but the plan was later abandoned.
The Excalibur has been shown to be vulnerable to GPS jamming. When shells were first supplied to Ukraine during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, they initially hit targets with a 70% efficiency rate. However, within six weeks the Russians had adapted their
electronic warfare systems and reduced its efficiency to only 6%.
Variants
There are three versions of the system. Initial development effort was toward Increment I; Milestone C decisions were to be made on Increment II and III in FY2013, with a demonstration of those capabilities by 2020.
[
* Increment I has a unitary penetrating ]warhead
A warhead is the section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket (weapon), rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
*E ...
for use against stationary targets.
** Increment Ia-1: Accelerated development, reduced-range round. Entered service in 2007. (XM982)[Precision Strike Association Excalibur Overview](_blank)
** Increment Ia-2: Extended-range round with resistance to GPS jamming. (M982)
** Increment Ib: Full-capability, reduced-cost, mass-production round. (M982A1)
***Excalibur S: In June 2013, Raytheon initiated an internally funded program to upgrade the Excalibur Ib with additional semi-active laser targeting capability. The SAL seeker allows the shell to attack targets that have re-positioned after firing or are moving, and to change the impact point to avoid collateral damage.
***Excalibur N5: Version of the Excalibur S downsized into a shell to give naval guns mounted on destroyers and cruisers the ability to fire extended-range guided projectiles. Raytheon was also considering a millimeter wave
Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It is in the microwave part of the radio spectrum, between t ...
seeker for fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further external intervention after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the tar ...
operations.
***Excalibur HTK: Excalibur HTK has an armor-penetrating warhead and leverages the proven StormBreaker smart weapon design. It autonomously locates a target with an all-weather seeker that is effective against moving and imprecisely located targets.
***Excalibur EST: Excalibur Shaped Trajectory, allows the shell to make its final approach at an angle; demonstrated in August 2018 and deployed shortly thereafter.
* Increment II "Smart" projectile for moving and time-sensitive targets. May carry either 65 DPICM or two SADARM submunitions.
*Increment III "Discriminating" projectile "to search, detect, and selectively engage individual vehicles by distinguishing specific target characteristics".[
]
History
Excalibur started as a development program in 1992. The Operational Requirements Document (ORD) of May 1997 called for 200,000 rounds of an unguided munition with increased range at an estimated cost of $4,000/round, and Texas Instruments was awarded the initial EMD contract on 23 January 1998. In November 2001 the volume was cut to 76,677 rounds and soon after this was further reduced to 61,483, but the developers were encouraged by the Indian experience of using Russian Krasnopol guided shells against Pakistani bunkers in the Kargil War
The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In In ...
of 1999.
In March 2004 the program was merged with a Swedish/U.S. program to create Trajectory Correctable Munitions, reflected in a new ORD in September 2004 which removed the Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition "cluster bomb" variant in favor of the discriminating munition variant. Later that year the U.S. Army reduced its planned order to 30,000 rounds. Low-rate production of 500 rounds was approved in May 2005 and Raytheon was awarded a contract to produce 165 rounds in June 2005,[ worth $22.1 million. In September of that year, the round was successfully demonstrated at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. Raytheon was awarded a $42.7 million contract for production of 335 Excalibur projectiles and related test articles and services in June 2006 for that fiscal year.]
In August 2006, technical problems relating to environmental sensitivity and GPS signal lock were discovered, pushing the expected in-service date to spring 2007. Testing in September demonstrated an actual average CEP of or better.
Increment Ia-1 completed testing in early 2007 and in April that year the U.S. Army approved an Urgent Material Release to allow deployment to Iraq.[ The Excalibur was first operationally fired in Iraq in May 2007. Increment Ia-2 achieved a range in a live-fire demonstration in April 2007 and in July the Army Acquisition Executive approved the Milestone C decision for Ia-2 to enter low-rate production.][ The munition was developed with ]US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
55.1 million in financial assistance from Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, which expected to receive service rounds in 2010. The Excalibur debuted in Afghanistan in February 2008. The Australian Army ordered US$40 million of Excalibur rounds in October 2007, an order revised in April 2008 to an estimated US$58 million. In 2008 unit cost was US$85,000.
In September 2008 both Raytheon and Alliant Techsystems were awarded competitive development contracts for Increment Ib mass production,[ but Raytheon secured the final manufacturing contract in August 2010. Test firings of Increment Ia-1 rounds in March 2009 revealed that the Honeywell inertial measurement unit was not up to standard, and it was replaced by a unit from Atlantic Inertial Systems. In April 2010 the U.S. Army's planned order was cut further, from 30,000 rounds to 6,264, which increased the unit cost sufficiently that it triggered an investigation under the Nunn–McCurdy Amendment. Normally a Nunn-McCurdy breach signals a program in trouble, but a 2012 RAND report concluded that the unit cost increases were caused by the cuts in procurement numbers: fewer shells were needed for the same effect, due to the improved accuracy of modern artillery.][
The Excalibur gives U.S. ]brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
commanders a precision weapon that is locally available, regardless of weather conditions (unlike bombs dropped from aircraft). Because the M982 is so accurate, the risks of friendly-fire casualties and collateral damage are no longer deterrents to using gun artillery in urban environments, and the Excalibur is sometimes called in only away from friendly infantrymen. In February 2012, a U.S. Marine Corps M777 howitzer
The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the Wa ...
in Helmand province
Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...
, Afghanistan, fired a single Excalibur round that killed a group of insurgents at a Marine-record range of .
In December 2012, Raytheon received a $56.6 million contract for low-rate initial production of Excalibur Ib projectiles. On 10 September 2013, Raytheon received a $54 million contract for a second lot of Excalibur Ib artillery rounds. The Excalibur Ib has improved reliability and lower unit cost than the previous Excalibur Ia-1 and Ia-2. At the time of the award, over 690 Excalibur projectiles had been fired in theater. In February 2014, the U.S. Army and Raytheon fired 30 Excalibur Ib shells at test targets to confirm the performance and reliability of the configuration before full-rate production. Projectiles were fired from Paladin and M777 howitzers at ranges from , each hitting within an average of from the target.
On 3 April 2014, the last Excalibur Ia projectile was assembled, signaling the transition to Increment Ib focus. Over 6,500 Ia shells were delivered to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as well as several international customers. Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) for the Excalibur Ib was completed in May 2014, moving the projectile closer to full-rate production. Testing of the Excalibur Ib averaged a miss distance of less than . On 31 July 2014, Raytheon received a $52 million contract to begin full-rate production of the Excalibur Ib shell.
In June 2014, Raytheon successfully test-fired its Excalibur S shell with a dual-mode GPS/SAL guidance system. The variant incorporates a laser spot tracker (LST) into the Excalibur Ib shell. The test was to validate the LST's ability to survive being fired from a howitzer and was initialized with GPS coordinates, then a laser designator guided the round to the target. In February 2020, Raytheon announced the Excalibur S had been successfully tested against a moving target using its laser seeker.
In December 2019, the Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
conducted firing trials of Excalibur guided shells in the Pokhran Field Firing Range from one of its M777 howitzer
The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the Wa ...
. India procured 600 units of the type in October the same year (500 with 20 m CEP and 100 with 2 m CEP). India will use this ammunition from all 155 mm caliber guns including M777, Haubits FH77, Dhanush
Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in Dhanush filmography, 50 films over his car ...
and K9 Vajra-T.
In April 2024, Hanwha Aerospace conducted test fires of the M982A1 Excalibur Increment Ib at Yuma Proving Ground using Norwegian K9 VIDAR variant. The K9 used various fuze modes and achieved less than one meter CEP in Point Detonating mode and 5 meters above the target in Height of Burst mode from 50 km away.
Excalibur N5
In September 2015, Raytheon conducted a live fire guided test flight of the Excalibur N5, a company-funded initiative to reduce the 155 mm Excalibur shell to 127 mm (5") for use with naval guns mounted on destroyers and cruisers. The Excalibur Ib and N5 have 70% commonality, 99% identical software, and the same guidance and navigation unit (GNU). Its primary uses would be to allow warships to accurately fire shells against land targets in support of troops ashore and inexpensively destroy fast attack craft (FAC) at longer ranges.
Unguided shells from Mark 45
The 5-inch (127 mm)/54-caliber (Mk 45) lightweight gun is a U.S. naval artillery gun mount consisting of a L54 Mark 19 gun on the Mark 45 mount. It was designed and built by United Defense, a company later acquired by BAE Systems Land & Armame ...
naval guns have a range of , but can deliver accurate fire only out to , while small cruise missile
A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
-carrying attack boats can launch from away. Like the land-based version, the Excalibur N5's guidance fins pop out after launch to glide the round out to longer ranges before turning nose-down and diving to the target, extending range to depending on gun barrel length; although range would be greater with rocket assistance, cost would also be greater. Alternative seekers will be added to hit maneuvering targets, such as laser guidance that requires a spotter to designate it, and millimeter wave
Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It is in the microwave part of the radio spectrum, between t ...
radar that needs no outside guidance.
Operators
Current operators
*
* – Canadian Army
The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...
*
*
* – Royal Netherlands Army
The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...
: First ordered in 2015, qualified to enter service in October 2018.
*
*
* : Excalibur munitions were donated to the armed forces of Ukraine for use in M777 howitzer
The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the Wa ...
s and AHS Krab following the Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
* – U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps
Future or pending operators
* – pending United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
's foreign military sales
Foreign Military Sales (FMS) is a security assistance program of the United States government to facilitate the purchase of U.S. arms, defense equipment, design and construction services, and military training to foreign governments. FMS is a gove ...
request.
*
* [https://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/Press%20Release%20-%20Denmark%2024-61%20CN.pdf ]
See also
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
Bibliography
* ''Jane's Ammunition Handbook 2003–2004''
Further reading
2012 RAND report
goes into detail on the progress of the project
External links
{{commons category, M982 Excalibur
Excalibur Precision Guided Extended Range Artillery Projectile — Raytheon
Video of Excalibur test — Metacafe
Excalibur round used for the first time in Afghanistan
155 mm artillery shells
Cannon-launched guided projectiles
Military equipment introduced in the 2000s
Artillery of the United States