Raytheon demos Excalibur round
Raytheon has fired new Excalibur N5 projectile while conducting a live guided flight test at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, the company announced on 30 September.
Excalibur N5, a naval variant of Excalibur precision projectile used by the US Marine Corps, the US Army and various international armies, measures 5-inch/127 mm.
It is anticipated that the new system might deliver the same pinpoint accuracy of the Excalibur Ib, which is in production today, while increasing the maximum effective range to more than thrice compared with that of the conventional naval gun munitions.
Excalibur N5 can be used to support several critical mission areas like Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), Naval Surface Fire Support and countering Fast Attack Craft (FAC).
Duane Gooden, vice president, Land Warfare Systems product line, Raytheon, said: ‘Excalibur N5's range, precision and lethality will revolutionise naval gunfire and increase the offensive firepower of our navy's destroyers and cruisers. This demonstration showcases the N5's maturity as a proven low-risk solution, and is ready for the navy now.
‘With the significant amount of re-use from the Army's Excalibur programme, the N5 provides the navy with an affordable, direct path to employ a critical capability. We continue to build on Excalibur's unmatched reliability and performance by investing in a fire-and-forget, dual-mode seeker that will vastly improve the 5-inch gun's current ASuW and counter-FAC capability.’
More from Land Warfare
-
US services test wearable tech to improve soldier’s performance
Developed by the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, the Lightning Platform is an app to assess warfighters’ physiology, metabolism and mental and cognitive status.
-
Romania opens the chequebook and reorganises as it watches Russian aggression
Romania is retiring old systems, some Soviet, and replacing them with western equipment from countries such as Sweden and Turkey and boosting existing modern fleets.
-
Milrem picks Texelis for partnership in drive to develop large UGV
Milrem has delivered or is building a total of 200 Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System UGVs and has chosen Texelis as partner in its effort to develop a UGV.
-
Sweden takes delivery of first M3 amphibious bridge and ferry system
The most recent nation to join NATO has joined other member nations in using the M3 system.
-
CV90 delivery to Slovakia imminent
Slovakia is undergoing a radical refresh of its equipment, like many central and eastern European countries, and the arrival of new vehicles will form a substantial part of this.