Excalibur range test

[Nypsy]

GPS guided artillery shell testing. A desert, cars and explosives. What could be better?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgGT0EhKUoQ#at=63

[Rino]

     Pretty impressive hits on the helos and water tower. 

[Gman]

Very impressive, I agree.  All those rounds looked right on the button at 20k.  I wonder about the helo's on the pole testing, is that their way of saying hovering or low speed aircraft are dead meat with this round?  I've got a feeling that this is the case, a nice little capability for forward observers/arty guys to have.

I know the new Navy gun system going into the DDG1000 new ship, the dual gun system, is using some of the same tech with its long range rounds, but they're going to be able to fly them nearly 100km in some cases, and well over 40km with the normal rounds without boosters.  Also their rate of fire with the 2 guns will equal an entire arty battery on land they claim, so putting down that kind of accurate firepower from 155mm guns at sea....pretty nice system to have offshore firing in support.

[DaveJ]

Graduated from the Field Artillery School at Ft. Sill in May. Excalibur is a fantastic bit of kit. With a 10m circular error probable, one round could theoretically provide more effective fires than an entire battery of artillery could simply due to accuracy. Additionally, its near vertical fall and small explosive warhead means that it is ideal in high collateral damage situations. Simply a wonderful piece of technology.

[Widewing]

Excalibur utilizes two electro-mechanical kinetic switches to detect firing and impact. The first one powers up the electronics. The second begins the explosive train (detonation). Both are installed into their respective subsystems at L-3, and then get delivered to Raytheon for final assembly and testing. I designed both devices, and our company (CIRCOR Aerospace, Aerodyne Controls division) manufactures them.

Virtually all major and many minor weapons systems use my hardware, including Hellfire, Hellfire II Romeo, Sea Sparrow, JDAM, JASM, TOW II, Mk48 ADCAP, FMU-139, FMU-142, FMU-152, Small Diameter Bomb, SMAW II, M72 ASM FFE, SM2, SM3, and many others.

[Gman]

Wow WW, I knew that was the sort of stuff you and your company designed, but I had NO idea it was that widespread in terms of systems you have worked on.  That's pretty much every major weapon system in the NATO inventory.  The Mk48 is a very interesting system for me, here in Canada we actually spent a TON of money reconfiguring our Upholder class subs to use our stockpile of Mk48's instead of taking the Spearfish Brit torps that could have come with them and used the existing tubes in the subs.

I find the SDB pretty interesting as well, being able to have such a small, light, yet lethal weapon will be important in the future when it comes to arming smaller and lighter unmanned platforms I'll bet.

[Bosco123]

I would have to agree its awesome, and it will be nice for the military.  The problem is one of those awesome rounds costs a little over 50,000 a pop.  Don't think we'll see those in action anytime soon...

If your looking for something very similar and by far costs a lot less, this is what will get the job done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_JTT3OsDJQ



<S>

[Widewing]

I would have to agree its awesome, and it will be nice for the military.  The problem is one of those awesome rounds costs a little over 50,000 a pop.  Don't think we'll see those in action anytime soon...

If your looking for something very similar and by far costs a lot less, this is what will get the job done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_JTT3OsDJQ

<S>

Over 1,200 Excalibur rounds have been expended thus far... They shoot them nearly every day in Afghanistan. Have a sniper on a hill top within range of the round...Goodbye sniper. 49 grand is still less than the cost of a soldier.

As to the APKWS, It's an air launched Hydra 70 with a guidance package. It isn't artillery. You need a combat aircraft or helo to use it. That means having air assets available. Artillery (if within range) is always available. Moreover, the APKWS has a small warhead, while Excalibur is an 155mm projectile, and far more effective. APKWS relies on MEMs technology and it's suffered a number of failures to detonate. Initial reports indicate that the MEMS sensors have failed due to vibration believed to be captive carry vibe. However, the similar Lockheed DAGR, with different capabilities has been accepted as well. We are on DAGR with all aspect impact sensing and five 9s reliability.

[Gman]

Are you guys working on anything regarding the new Advanced Gun System for the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class ships Widewing?  Those 2 guns on that ship are going to be very impressive if they work as predicted/advertised.  A whole leap forward in naval gun technology IMO, the ability to put as many of those guided rounds on targets that would take a battery of 6 to 8 field howitzers from a land based unit to do the same so they claim.

If they are able to put a single variant of this type of Advanced Gun system on the LCS Frigate, I think a lot of the detractors of the LCS due to its small fixed armament would STFU about it at long last.  Sure the gun it has is fantastic for direct fire, but if they could find a way with future variants of the LCS to mount even a 105 class gun tube that worked along the same design as the AGS on the DDG 1000, then the LCS could support friendly ground forces in the littorals, where it is supposed to be operating anyway.  The DDG 1000 will have much greater range with its 155 gun apparently, so it can stay out in deeper water somewhat, but having that same capability, to bring down some serious firepower, even it was a smaller/lighter caliber, would be a great capability for the LCS in my opinion.  I'm not sure where it could be mounted, possibly in the rear of the ship someplace, or some new module, since all the armament for the LCS other than its 57mm and the point defense RAM system is supposed to be "modular" anyway.

[Tank-Ace]

Impressive, but I'm still waiting on the rail gun. Navy has a working small scale model, IIRC.


What I'm wondering is if they could mount a small size one (like 50mm) on a carrier, and take out antiship missiles with it.

Hell, the round travels fast enough to theoretically take out a ballistic missile on terminal approach. If we get the intercept guidance down, it might work as a cost effective missile shield.

[Rich46yo]

Yeah its been operational for awhiles. I thought the USNs 155mm system was going to be capable of extended range, like 70+ miles. Its a two mode system as well, either GPS or Laser. Also we are upgrading our GPS system as well. Its a new day for arty men.

[shermanjr]

ya those rounds awesome one of my combat instructors was a field artyman and thought very appreicatevly of those rounds even tho they cost a crap amount. but 50k vs a life insurance policy for a fallen marine or soldier or the collateral damage from a convetional round

[Plawranc]

Are you guys working on anything regarding the new Advanced Gun System for the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class ships Widewing?  Those 2 guns on that ship are going to be very impressive if they work as predicted/advertised.  A whole leap forward in naval gun technology IMO, the ability to put as many of those guided rounds on targets that would take a battery of 6 to 8 field howitzers from a land based unit to do the same so they claim.

If they are able to put a single variant of this type of Advanced Gun system on the LCS Frigate, I think a lot of the detractors of the LCS due to its small fixed armament would STFU about it at long last.  Sure the gun it has is fantastic for direct fire, but if they could find a way with future variants of the LCS to mount even a 105 class gun tube that worked along the same design as the AGS on the DDG 1000, then the LCS could support friendly ground forces in the littorals, where it is supposed to be operating anyway.  The DDG 1000 will have much greater range with its 155 gun apparently, so it can stay out in deeper water somewhat, but having that same capability, to bring down some serious firepower, even it was a smaller/lighter caliber, would be a great capability for the LCS in my opinion.  I'm not sure where it could be mounted, possibly in the rear of the ship someplace, or some new module, since all the armament for the LCS other than its 57mm and the point defense RAM system is supposed to be "modular" anyway.

I do not think he is at liberty to say.

But knowing how the US Military generally operates with experimental weapons. The fact we are seeing a lot of ships and other military equipment either retired or refitted suggests that they have new equipment to supplement them.

[Rich46yo]

Theres only going to be three Zumwalts built, the rest will be additional Burke class DDs with 5" guns.

And since DD-1000 will be the only USN combatant capable of generating the power for the eventual rail gun you have to wonder whats going to happen to that program as well. I suspect the DD-1000 was axed cause the #1 priority and threat to the USN is our CVs and protecting them. The Burkes are far better at this then the DD-1000 will be, and at a cheaper cost as well. Be that as it may we will have a test platform, 3 actually, to use these new tech's.

$50,000.00 is a steal compared to launching a Tac Tomahawk at $800,000.00 a pop. I thought we were developing a mid range strike missile, out to 100 nm, based on the SM-3 but I guess that got axed. In the long run smart munitions save us a lot of money when were blowing a country up. That and saves a lot of innocents from getting killed and hurt.

[Scherf]

If AH were Monty Python, Widewing would be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTKdHbiLim0