“If the… 58-cal cannon solution can't deliver on a timeline we want, what are the other options? That can be munitions…new munitions with old cannons and it can be different cannons,” said Army acquisition head Doug Bush.
The Army will create new field artillery battalions in its heavy divisions, armed with the new Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) armored howitzer. It's part of a plan to add new Long-Range Precision Fire weapons at every level of command.
The network transport architecture for NGC2 could be a hybrid approach that combines high assurance communications with 5G, WiFi, and multi-orbit satellites.
Five small businesses won SBIR Phase II awards to build robotic arms to handle shells, software to manage ammo inventory, and other prototype technologies.
PrSM is preparing for its first 300-plus-mile flight test this year, while the ERCA cannon and hypersonic LRHW head for key tests in 2023.
The Army is testing the MPF light tank; evaluating concepts for the OMFV troop carrier; preparing for major tests of high-tech Robotic Combat Vehicles and workhorse Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles in 2022; and will test a full battalion of 18 ERCA howitzers in 2023.
When defense budgets fell in the past, “the easy button” has been cutting modernization to protect manpower and readiness, Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette says. “It's going to be different this time." around.”
Why edge and endpoint security can’t be an afterthought.
Weapons from hypersonics to howitzers have key deadlines to meet next year to keep to the Army’s ambitious timeline, Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood and Brig. Gen. John Rafferty tell Breaking Defense.
Next fall, the Army aims to test a new artificial intelligence for artillery and fire the prototype PrSM missile to its full 300-plus-mile range -- once they find a venue that's big enough.
The Precision Strike Missile’s rocket booster is so powerful that short-range shots actually put more stress on the weapon than letting it loose to fly its full distance, Lockheed told us.
BAE will deliver the first 18 ERCA vehicles by 2023 – but the Army is already working on further upgrades.
Reducing cognitive overload on warfighters while improving “time to trust” for autonomous systems is a matter of design.
Six companies got $150,000 Field Artillery Autonomous Resupply contracts to study everything from exoskeletons that strengthen human ammo handlers to robots that might replace them.
Looking to spend billions more on its top modernization programs, the Army is changing things up by spending those dollars in places that might come as a bit of a surprise.
The Army is modernizing three artillery systems: 155 cannon, the cheapest option, for the close fight against the enemy's frontline forces; guided rockets for the deep fight against enemy reinforcements and supply lines; and missiles, the most expensive munitions, for very deep or even strategic strikes against targets in the enemy rear and homeland.