(click to view full)
April 4/11: Raytheon in Tucson, AZ receives a $172.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for “a block” of M982 Excalibur GPS-guided 155mm artillery shells. They are especially important given restrictive rules of engagement in Afghanistan, which require this level of accuracy. Excalibur has been a leading weapon in an emerging trend, where precision-guided artillery is coupled with long-endurance aerial surveillance and targeting, to create a much faster, more reliable, and cheaper alternative to close air support fighters with precision-guided bombs.
Numbers were not disclosed, but even at their estimated cost of $100,000+ each, that’s still a lot of shells. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ; McAlester, OK; Farmington, NM; Niceville, FL; Healdsburg, CA; Anniston, AL; Cincinnati, OH; Anaheim, CA; Williamsport, PA; Joplin, MO; Lowell, MA; Karlskoga, Sweden; and the United Kingdom; with an estimated completion date of Jan 31/13. One bid was solicited with one bid received by the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Picatinny, NJ (W15QKN-07-C-0100).
Raytheon’s subsequent release notes that this contract marks the beginning of full rate production for Excalibur Ia-2, adding that the U.S. Army and Marine Corps have fired over 300 Excalibur shells in the past year.