The Royal Netherlands Army is set to receive further $40.5 million worth of Raytheon’s Excalibur Increment b (Ib) munitions after the US State Department approved the sale on April 10.
According to an announcement from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Dutch government has requested the purchase of a total of 199 Excalibur tactical projectiles and related equipment.
The latest potential purchase comes after the Netherlands became the second European Excalibur lb customer after Sweden in 2015.
Delivery dates are yet to be determined as the DSCA announcement does not indicate a contract has been officially signed.
The Dutch Army is using Excalibur munitions with the PzH2000NL self-propelled howitzer (SPH) to provide precision fires capability in order to reduce collateral damage and increase effectiveness in various areas of operation.
Excalibur is a 155mm round developed by Raytheon, now Raytheon Technologies, capable of flying up to 50 kilometers.
The munition is qualified for the M777, M109 series, M198, the Archer and PzH2000 howitzers. It’s also compatible with the AS90, K9 and G6 howitzers.
In addition to the Netherlands and Sweden, the round is in use with the armed forces of Canada and Australia.
Multiple variants of the round are currently either under development or in the testing phase, including the Excalibur S. This variant incorporates a digital semi-active laser seeker, allowing it to hit moving targets and engage and strike targets without accurate location information. The company recently shared video footage of the round hitting a moving target in a US Navy test.
