A Marine unit broke records by hitting a group of Taliban insurgents with a 22-mile artillery shot, Marine Corps Times reports. And you think you’re a good shot? Pfft – this shot was farther than most people’s commute to work. Golf Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, California launched a 155mm M982 Excalibur round on a group of Afghani insurgents. They fired the round out of an M77 howitzer at Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge, in Kajaki, launching the shot 36 kilometers into the neighboring Musa Qala district. The GPS-guided round was able to maintain its accuracy over an incredibly long distance and strike the Taliban insurgents out of the blue. Not only did this set a record as the longest operational artillery shot in the history of the Marines, but it was also the longest shot with an Excalibur round, according to David Brockway of Raytheon Missile Systems, which is one of the companies involved in the development of Excalibur rounds. The Excalibur round is specially designed to maintain accuracy up to 37.5 kilometers (23.3 miles) away. The rounds are jam-resistant, capable of being fired in all weather conditions, and can be fired at targets within 500 feet. Basically, anybody planning to take out a howitzer has to brave 20 miles of no-mans-land in order to reach the target. The Marines ordered over a thousands of these rounds back in 2011, and they’ve been squeezing them off ever since. Evidently, they’re getting more and more accurate. http://www.guns.com/22-mile-excalibur-shot-9624.html
Kudos to the marines. My how times have changed. GPS, guided projectiles, and extended range previously not possible. From a retired US Navy Chief Gunnersmate with multiple major caliber naval gun platform experience this is indeed High Praise. Awesome !!!
Having been the happy recipient of marine arty support a few decades ago I can say that marines seem to greatly enjoy all things that go boom,bang,brap-brap,whoomp, or whoosh.We gators truly appreciated their enthusiastic choice of hobbies.
And here I thought firing a 3" ordnance rifle 200 yards was cool. Ya gotta love the evolution of artillery!!!
I was in theater when the US Army used the first ones during the "Surge" of Iraq back in the summer of '07. Here is a video during the testing stage before it was deployed. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Bvf5aAabkhM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So. High angle firing to allow the guidance system enough height to do mid course corrections? Can be either penetrator with delay, or air burst, presumably with different warheads. External designator or internal guidance? Or either. No doubt sabotted so fins are protected at firing. Or do they deploy after clearing the muzzle?
click on the excaliber round link on first post. they do not appear to be sabotted, but instead retractable. spin delay deployment of fins similiar to arming a fuse I would safely assume
Quite a shot. My son was/is attached to an artillery unit in the 82ond. They can drop these guns and have them popping in mere minutes. Like another said--we have come a long way from smooth bores.
