Posted on 10/27/2010 9:46:56 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Since the GPS-guided Excalibur artillery round first made it to Iraq and Afghanistan, roughly 200 rounds have been fired. In the last week or so, use of that round has pulsed. Army artillerymen have fired 20 rounds or 10 percent of the total in Afghanistan, according to James Riley, Raytheon Missile System’s vice president for land systems. We don’t have similar numbers for the Marines, who have been using the shell as well.
Excalibur has been at the center of debate in the Army as the service grapples with the tradeoffs of cost, capability and logistics. Army Vice Chief of Staff Chiarelli has singled out Excalibur as an example of a weapon that would be nice to have lots of if only it didn’t cost so much compared to alternatives such as PGK (Precision Guidance Kit), a GPS setup that can be put on a $600 shell.
There are significant differences in accuracy between Excalibur and the PGK. Excalibur’s circular error of probability (CEP) is 2.86 meters at 40 kilometers, Riley said. PGK’s CEP requirement is better than 50 meters at that range, according to a briefing on the system. Excalibur’s greater accuracy has several effects beyond the obvious one of destroying the target with greater certainty. It allows artillerymen to operate a much lighter logistics tail. More accurate shells means far fewer shells are needed and fewer artillery pieces. Given the enormous costs of moving materiel to Afghanistan Excalibur could have a significant cost effect on the Army and Marine’s resupply efforts.
(Excerpt) Read more at dodbuzz.com ...
[translated as:]
Serpent's breath,
charm of death and life,
thy omen of making.
The Excalibur is referred as the “Finger of Death”.
my two cents, sounds like a bargain.
I wouldn’t want to be on the other end on this one.
It would be nice to get the unit price down. Eventually, that will happen. On the battlefield, rapidly deployed and highly accurate artillery fire has always had a way of deciding the outcome of battles hence the name, “king of battle”.. The need to avoid civilian casualties in the urban environment, and, more specifically, the age of mass media, would seem to further justify the increased procurement of this weapon.
I agree with you 100 percent.
The fellow from Sweden “Western Culture” mentioned this because I think Bofors of Sweden built it with Raytheon or one of the US defense companies.
I watched a video that may be on youtube that he linked in. The thing is devastating. It hits as fast as a missile. Too bad they did not have this at Khe Sahn.
9 ft. circular accuracy at 24 miles? Awesome!
Helen Mirren was a babe.
And she still looks pretty good.
Let’s see, from 40 kilometers away they can hit a 2.89 meter circle with an artillery shell that will destroy a 10 meter radius. I’m surprised someone isn’t shouting “No Fair!” I’m with you, I wouldn’t be too interested in having that shot at me.
Yea, the finger that points: “Allah is that way. Go.”
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