Home Americas Raytheon sets distance record with Excalibur round fired from French Caesar howitzer

Raytheon sets distance record with Excalibur round fired from French Caesar howitzer

Excalibur with Caesar
Photo: Raytheon

Working with the US Army and French company Nexter, Raytheon Missiles & Defense says it fired Excalibur artillery projectiles at record ranges from a Caesar self-propelled howitzer.

The test proved compatibility between Excalibur, the US Army’s Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS) and the French-developed howitzer.

During the demonstration, the Caesar-fired Excalibur directly struck two targets at a distance of more than 46 kilometers, a record setting range from the gun system.

It should be noted that the US Army previously succeeded at lugging the Excalibur round to a distance of 70 km (43 miles) with the help of the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA).

“Integration with Caesar now adds a level of mobility to the long-range and proven precision of Excalibur, providing the US Army and partner nations more flexibility for this advanced, versatile weapons system for contested environments,” said Sam Deneke, vice president of execution for Land Warfare & Air Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “This success highlights the interoperability of a French howitzer with a US munition and offers our customers more options to deploy Excalibur artillery from a range of platforms.”

Building on previous compatibility tests, this demonstration marked an important milestone toward operational capability for Excalibur’s integration with CAESAR, the company release said.

“Chosen by eight partner nations, Caesar is arguably the most successful truck mounted artillery system available today,” said Thierry Soulat, program manager at Nexter. “This demonstration with Excalibur underscores Caesar’s compatibility with NATO standards for both conventional and smart ammunition.”

The Excalibur projectile benefits from GPS-guided capabilities and multiple fuze modes. The round is in service with multiple countries using the M777, M109 series, M198, the Archer, the PzH2000, and the SIAC systems.

According to Raytheon, initial assessments also indicate likely compatibility with the AS90, K9 and G6 howitzers.