Partnership aims to advance long-range fire capabilities to defeat fixed and mobile targets in challenging environments
The U.S. Army has awarded a $72.5 million contract to BAE Systems for research and development of precision guided munitions. The contract, awarded by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Armaments Center (DEVCOM AC), will run for three years and is intended to boost the Army’s long-range precision fire modernization efforts.
Brent Butcher, Vice President and General Manager of Weapon Systems at BAE Systems, expressed excitement about the partnership established with DEVCOM AC and stressed the importance of developing a highly maneuverable long-range fire capability capable of engaging high-value targets on the battlefield.
Over the past few years, BAE Systems has invested in the development of ultra-long range and hypervelocity munitions. In this contract, the company will work in collaboration with DEVCOM AC to further enhance the performance of precision cannon munitions, enabling them to defeat fixed and moving targets in environments with degraded or non-existent GPS signal, at twice the range of precision guided munitions (PGMs) launched by cannons currently in use.
As early as 2021, BAE Systems was awarded a $16 million contract to develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of PGMs against long-range ground targets.