General Atomics awarded US Army contract for extended-range artillery

The U.S. Army has awarded General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems a contract to validate a maneuvering 155mm artillery round designed to strike targets beyond the reach of conventional rounds.

The contract, announced last week, is part of the Army’s Extended Range Artillery Projectile Program, or ERAP, which seeks to field a next-generation munition that can maintain precision in GPS-degraded or denied situations. The Army is aiming to reach initial operational capability by fiscal 2030.

The company tested a version of the projectile at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, last year, successfully hitting targets more than 74 miles away after being fired from an M777 howitzer.

Instead of traveling only along a predetermined path, maneuvering munitions can change course in-flight to be more precise.

The projectile is updated to travel farther while remaining compatible with existing artillery platforms.

“Our projectile is engineered to provide extended range without rocket assist and remains compatible with legacy cannons and loaders. Its features include deployable wings and advanced redundant guidance systems,” Michael Rucker, vice president of GA-EMS Weapons Programs, said in the company’s release. “These capabilities provide agility and mission flexibility, supporting strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.”

The U.S. Navy also tapped the company in late 2024 to continue developing the projectile for maritime use.

The effort is part of the Army’s push to extend the range of cannon artillery.

According to the service’s 2024 solicitation, the new projectiles are intended to “defeat infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), air defense targets, main battle tanks (MBT) and maritime targets of interest.”

The Army also requires that the munition have a non-GPS mode.