Posted on 07/25/2019 3:14:30 PM PDT by PROCON
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground conducts developmental testing of multiple facets of the Extended Range Cannon Artillery project, from artillery shells to the longer cannon tube and larger firing chamber the improved howitzer will need to accommodate them on November 18, 2018 (U.S. Army photo)
The future of Army long-range precision officially has a name.
The Army confirmed on Monday that it plan on designating the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) program's brand new 155mm self-propelled howitzer as the M1299, Army Recognition reports.
Developed in response to increasing concerns of near-peer adversaries like Russia and China, the ERCA gun nailed targets with pinpoint accuracy at a range of 62 kilometers during testing at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in March, far outstripping the range of both the M109A7 Paladin (30km) and M777 (40km with the M982 Excalibur guided artillery shell) howitzers.
Compared to those systems, the M1299 will receive two "leading-edge technologies," as Army Recognition reports: the experimental new XM1113 rocket-assisted artillery shell, and a longer 58 caliber tube designed to boost the conventional howitzer range from 38km to 70km and, eventually, an eye-popping 100 km "within the forthcoming four years."
Extended Range Cannon Artillery, or ERCA, will be an improvement to the latest version of the Paladin self-propelled howitzer that provides indirect fires for the brigade combat team and division-level fight (U.S. Army photo)
"We know we need the range in order to maintain overmatch," Col. John Rafferty, head of the long-range precision fire cross-functional team, told Defense News. "We need 70 to 80 kilometers because that's the start, and then we will be able to get farther. Right now we are on a path to 70 kilometers with ERCA."
Extended range is only one element of the Army's never-ending pursuit of lethality. The M1299 will incorporate a fully automated ammo loading system to boost the howitzer's rate of fire from 3 rpm to 10rpm, although Defense News reported in March that the Army doesn't plan on fully incorporating the system "beyond the first iteration" until 2024.
Soldier may not need to wait that long to get their hands on the ERCA program's new tech, though: the official M1299 designation comes just weeks after the Army awarded a $45 million contract to BAE Systems to integrate various elements of the ERCA system into the service's existing and future Paladin howitzers.
Anyway, congrats to the M1299 on its induction into the world of alpha-numeric military designations. We hope your upcoming baptism is a baptism by fire.
Napoleon said “Artillery kills soldiers”.
I have read that during WWII, more casualties were inflicted by artillery than anything else.
No, the Big Bertha was a massive mortar, nam d after Herr Krupp’s daughter, IIRC.
The he long range gun (75 miles) was the Paris Gun https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Gun
So caliber has nothing to do with bore diameter?
Thanks. I read some where that the Paris gun’s shells were the first man made object to enter space.
Yes, see post #32
“A 58 caliber tube” probably refers to the length of the tube stated in by the number of times it is long divided by the diameter of the barrel. Thus a 6 inch in diameter gun (aka 155mm) that is 58 calibers is 348 inches or 29 feet in length. Naval guns are often referred to this way 5/34 meaning 5 inch in diameter with the length being 34 times the diameter.
See posts 32 and 47 for the answer.
see posts 32 and 47 for explanations of gun diameter size and barrel length regarding ‘caliber’ measurement. Once one goes from hand guns to artillery, there is a major difference in expressing diameter vs length using the word ‘caliber.’
Bore size is caliber. So the true statement wold 155mm x 58 = tube length
Post #32 clarifies artillery caliber.
Man, that Marine D.I. would give those poor Marines hell when they weren't in classroom training.
Is caliber for howitzers different than caliber for firearms?
"58 caliber tube" refers to the length of the tube. It is 58 times as long as the nominal diameter, 155mm.
“Now all we have to do is get enough capable people to man them.”
As a former gun Bunny all I can imagine is that now the gun bunnies will have more opportunities to shoot outside the range.
Then why are the common artillery pieces 75, 105, 155mm etc referred to as such rather than by caliber?
Both the Army and the Navy have been working for some time on GPS and laser terminal guidance for 5 in/155mm projectiles to address the accuracy problems you mention.
With that kind of range and automated loading systems, you can imagine some pretty wicked TOT set ups with a single weapon system firing a battery-equivalent fire mission. Hope they made barrel replacement easier, they are going to need it.
Interesting to see the new system still mounted on the M109 chassis. Wonder if that is for development purposes only or if the Army feels the M109 still fills the bill for mobility and reliability.
155mm, 105mm, etc refers to diameter of the projectile.
Example: 155mm/25.4mm (1") = 6.1" diameter projectile.
These can be fired with the M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (screw in fuze with GPS guidance and control surfaces for in-flight corrections); so pretty damned accurate.
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