US Army successfully test-fires Excalibur projectiles at record range from CAESAR howitzer

News January 20, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. defense firm Raytheon Missiles & Defense in collaboration with the U.S. Army and French company Nexter successfully test-fired Excalibur artillery projectiles at record range from a CAESAR self-propelled howitzer.

During the demonstration on January 18, the CAESAR fired Excalibur projectiles directly hitting two targets at a distance of more than 46 kilometers, a record-setting range from the gun system, which marked an important milestone toward operational compatibility.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense vice president of execution for Land Warfare & Air Defense, Sam Deneke said “Integration with CAESAR now adds a level of mobility to the long-range and proven precision of Excalibur, providing the U.S. Army and partner nations more flexibility for this advanced, versatile weapons system for contested environments. This success highlights the interoperability of a French howitzer with a U.S. munition and offers our customers more options to deploy Excalibur artillery from a range of platforms.”

The latest test proved the U.S. Army’s Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS) Excalibur’s compatibility with Nexter’s CAESAR howitzer. Nexter is a leading land defense firm in France and Europe.

^{CAESAR howitzer test-fired an Excalibur successfully hitting a truck at a distance of more than 46 kilometers, a record-setting range from the gun system. (Image: Screenshot by IRIA from a video released by Raytheon Technologies)}

Thierry Soulat, a program manager at Nexter, “Chosen by eight partner nations, CAESAR is arguably the most successful truck mounted artillery system available today… This demonstration with Excalibur underscores CAESAR’s compatibility with NATO standards for both conventional and smart ammunition.”

According to Raytheon release, “The Excalibur projectile is a true precision weapon, impacting at a radial miss distance of less than two meters from the target, providing accurate first-round effects at all ranges in all weather conditions. With its GPS-guided capabilities and multiple fuze modes, it is already a premiere artillery option for multiple countries using the M777, M109 series, M198, the Archer, the PzH2000, and the SIAC systems. Initial assessments indicate likely compatibility with the AS90, K9 and G6 howitzers.”