The hyper-velocity shell will allow a conventional self-propelled gun to hit more than 100 km, and its the development will go parallel to the tests
Despite the impression that it is no longer possible to invent something revolutionary in artillery, this is exactly what the USA wants to achieve with the development of new so-called hypervelocity projectiles.
Their the essence is the ability to achieve a much higher initial speed during a shot, and with it an ultra-high firing range of more than 100 km. And this is on existing artillery systems.
And in the United States, the Land Forces' Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) plans to start testing such projectiles as early as 2025, as reported by the head of the administration, Robert Rush, in an interview with Defense News.
We note from Defense Express , that the interest in this type of weaponry is more than understandable, because currently ranges of more than 100 km are achievable only for missiles that cost much more than 155-mm artillery ammunition. Obviously, that is why the Pentagon is ready to take a rather unusual step, to actually combine development and testing.
As noted by Robert Rush, the prototype of the hypervelocity projectile will be created at the research center at Fort Sill in Oklahoma for three years, and intermediate samples will be tested immediately. A possible reason for this approach is also the negative experience with the previous ERCA (Extended Range Cannon Artillery) range increase program, which provided for the creation of a 155-mm self-propelled gun based on the M109 with a barrel length of 58 calibers.
This howitzer has been around since 2019 , as of December 2020, it had already covered 70 km. But in March 2024, after building 20 prototypes, the program was canceled due to low barrel life. Thus, despite the five-year effort, the US artillery did not get new opportunities.
Although precisely thanks to the ERCA program, the XM1155-SC projectile from BAE Systems appeared, which apparently became one of the first representatives of hyper-velocity. Ramjet 155, which is being promoted by Boeing and Norwegian Nammo, is also being created to increase the fire range. Therefore, the work of the RCCTO will definitely not start from scratch.
And it is precisely such new ammunition, which allows increasing the range of fire on the old length of the barrel, that the Pentagon sees as an opportunity to get a much-needed advantage in the range of artillery fire. Especially taking into account the fact that the standard length of 155-mm artillery systems in the USA is still 39 calibers, not 52 calibers, as in modern self-propelled guns.