Army Fires Shells 40 Miles in Upgraded Cannon Test

The Epoch Times ^ | March 7, 2020 Updated: March 7, 2020 | SIMON VEAZEY

[E. Pluribus Unum]

An outsized and upgraded cannon spat shells a distance of 40 miles over the Arizona desert Friday, reaching almost three times as far as its previous incarnation.

The army is scrambling to boost the range of its missiles and artillery as the number one modernization priority.

That program includes an upgrade to a tank-like howitzer, the Extended Range Cannon Artillery, with three times the range and an autoloader, able to launch one round every 6-10 seconds.

On March 6, the prototype, with its unwieldy-looking gun, successfully fired two different types of artillery 40 miles during a demonstration at the Yuma testing range in Arizona, according to Military.com.

The upgrade to the 57-year-old M109 armored self-propelled howitzer launched a rocket-assisted 155 mm round and an Excalibur precision-guided round.

The Excalibur round also hit a precision target, Brig. Gen. John Rafferty told reporters, according to Breaking Defense, but added no further details.

Rafferty is in charge of the Army’s Long Range Precision Fires program (LRPF), which also includes the development of a monster gun that can fire rounds hundreds of miles.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Gerald Bull

Gerald Vincent Bull (March 9, 1928 – March 22, 1990[1]) was a Canadian engineer who developed long-range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a huge artillery piece, to which end he designed the Project Babylon "supergun" for the Iraqi government. Bull was assassinated outside his apartment in Brussels, Belgium in March 1990. His assassination is believed to be the work of the Mossad over his work for the Iraqi government.

[Vendome]

Want...

[T-Bird45]

High elevation firing leads to intense fire-support coordination conversations with the Air Force. While it’s probably classified, it would be interesting to hear how high that projectile flies in its trajectory.

[LukeL]

Sometimes low-tech is better. Pound the enemy with cheap artillery as a demoralizing tactic.

[big'ol_freeper]

Meh...big sky little bullet

[yarddog]

I am sure I have read that the German “Paris Gun” of WWI entered what is considered space before descending.

[Fester Chugabrew]

I am no mathematician, but if one can gauge the angle of trajectory and distance, the apex should be discernable. What’s the formula. Google it, I reckon. Might even be a spreadsheet cheat.

[Cold Heart]

Black smoke to hide the muzzle flash?

[Spktyr]

The Russians never went away from that, and this artillery upgrade program is intended to get us caught up to them. Right now, Russian artillery currently outranges US and NATO artillery by a not small margin.

https://www.ausa.org/articles/king-battle-russia-breaks-out-big-guns

“While the U.S. Army remains fixed on 155 mm cannon artillery with a maximum range upward of 22 kilometers, the Russian army has begun reactivating its heavy artillery forces, beginning with its 2S7 Pion, mounting an impressive 203 mm round with a maximum range of 37.5 km. The Russian army is also in the midst of reactivating its 2S4 Tyulpan heavy mortar, with an Earth-shattering 240 mm projectile capable of ranging targets at 9,650 meters (and up to 20 km with special munitions), making the U.S. 120 mm mortar look rather small in comparison.

“While some critics may point to a relatively slower rate of fire for heavy artillery and mortars, the enormous power of these munitions, massed with multiple systems, can mimic the destructive effects of close-air support, as demonstrated with devastating results against Ukraine’s Luhansk International Airport in 2014. In addition to the sheer power of these systems, Russian forces will surely use their long-range standoff to wreak havoc on U.S. forces whose artillery would remain severely outranged.

“While the U.S. maintains its artillery at the brigade level for centralized control, the Russian army is fielding its artillery directly to maneuver battalions, providing maximum responsiveness when short windows of opportunity present themselves on the dynamic multidomain battlefield. Additionally, the Russians have mastered integrating a network of UAVs, forward observers and fire direction centers directly with rocket and cannon batteries.

“Russians have also used counterbattery radar with lethal effect, prosecuting rapid-fire missions, giving Ukrainian artillery minimal time to conduct immediate survivability moves after conducting their own fire missions, since remaining idle means certain death from a hail of dual-purpose improved conventional munitions and thermobaric top-attack munitions. This unparalleled responsiveness allows Russian forces to quickly fix and destroy an opposing force with minimal need for a lengthy decision-making process or complex schemes of maneuver.”

Ivan hasn’t been idle since the end of the Cold War...

[RubinBoomer]

Rocket-Assisted 155 mm Round:

Excalibur 155 mm Precision-Guided Round

[Fester Chugabrew]

...or we could ask Brian Williams.

[frank ballenger]

The Guns of Navarone

and Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon.

[Spktyr]

Forgot to note: The Russian 2S7 and new 2S7M can reach out to 55.5km with their own rocket assist projectiles.

[Vince Ferrer]

High elevation firing leads to intense fire-support coordination conversations with the Air Force.

If these are highly accurate, they will replace a lot of Air Force missions, because they will be much cheaper than sending an aircraft to bomb a target. Just clear the sky and use artillery.

[VeniVidiVici]

No, but they are only reinventing what they’ve had for 50 years.

They’ve always been artillery heavy. Even forming Arty brigades.

But funny how that’s not helped them in the type of warfare we’ve been in for 50 years.

Unless they plan once again to come over the Rhine, what’s the point?

[Spktyr]

Actually, once they got their heads out of their arse, it worked out remarkably well in modern warfare. Second Chechnya and the Ukraine/Donbass conflict have shown that their refinements work against peer-equipped and peer-trained forces.

I would point out that the US and NATO laughed off the improved Konkurs and Kornet missiles and assumed their armor was good enough until Turkish ex-German Army Leopard 2A4s and 2A5s started getting shredded by them. Now the US and NATO are desperately scrambling for the APS systems the Israelis and others had been telling NATO they should have.

[BenLurkin]

Why not rip the turrets off two of those vehicles anx plent them onto the Zumwalt destroyers.

Instant shore bombardment capability.

[Spktyr]

They would have to navalize them, which isn’t just a matter of slapping Navy logos on them. Lots of US Army vehicles and tech do not do well when installed on a ship.

On the other hand, a better option would be to rip the stupid AGS barrel out of the Zumwalt turrets then swap in this cannon and change the control software. The turret is already navalized and it’s engineered for the recoil of the AGS super long range 155mm (which for some stupid reason isn’t compatible with any existing 155mm munitions).

[TexasGator]

“I am sure I have read that the German “Paris Gun” of WWI entered what is considered space before descending.”

The Paris Gun fell far short of the Karman Line.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

a small rocket assist can change that.

Most of these long range guns have some sort of system that has an assist similar to a rocket firing from the back to fix some of the aerodynamic problems. That’s how they can get some longer distances. That is what Bull invented.