The US Successfully Tested Smart Artillery Like Missiles, Which Can Change Direction On The Flight

Excalibur N5 for US gunboat. Photo: Raytheon

In order to design flexible orbit ammunition, arms developers adapted and upgraded the software for the existing Excalibur Ib ammunition.

The existing guided artillery shells, often using GPS, have been effective in combat for many years, helping ground attack commanders expand their attack options. An accurate guided 155m ammunition, called Excalibur, first appeared in the war in 2007. The introduction of these guided munitions brought the artillery into the era of modern warfare, historically being used as a "regional weapon" to prey on enemies with incoming firepower, allowing other forces maneuver. 

Excalibur, used successfully in Iraq and Afghanistan, has brought a new level of precision attack in ground combat. This not only allows firing from a longer distance but also gives new tactical advantages to commanders seeking to eliminate targets in dangerous or complex environments.

After years of fighting, US rivals have developed tactics to prevent or avoid these precision artillery pieces, by placing weapons and potential targets into areas that are less likely to be destroyed by guided bullets.

Upside-down defense is a tactic in which a defensive force is located on the flank of a high terrain like hills and mountains, on the opposite side from the attacking force. This strategy interferes with the defender's ability to observe the position as well as reduces the effectiveness of the attacker's long-range weapons such as tanks and artillery.

In response to these challenges, the US Army and Raytheon are developing an improved version of Excalibur ammunition called EST that can change the direction of the flight and approach hidden targets.

In rough terrain, an adjustable bullet allows for new effects against targets. With the new technology, the bullet is programmed to make a U-shaped turn from above, changing directions to destroy hidden or hidden targets.

"When it reaches its highest point in orbit, the canard wings are activated and the bullet is lifted and glided. With a shaped trajectory, you can bend that trajectory."

Shawn Ball, Raytheon's Excalibur development team, told Warrior in an interview.

Approach angle of the bullet to a pre-programmed target. 

"The US Army came to us to pursue a goal that was previously inaccessible."

Ball said.

"The bullets were shot over a mountain and then it came back behind the hillside. It acted like a rocket. The trajectory was programmed by the gunners.”