Picatinny Arsenal advances M777 extended range howitzer

[AMDR]

Picatinny Arsenal advances M777 extended range howitzer

Daniel Wasserbly, Washington, DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

The ER M777A2 is shown undergoing re-fire checks and preventative maintenance during testing. Source: Picatinny Arsenal​

Picatinny Arsenal engineers are progressing work with their M777 extended range (ER) howitzer, based on the 155 mm M777 towed artillery system, and expect to soon test the weapon with new ammunition.

Test firings in November 2016 helped advance the M777ER programme that officials hope can "create an M777 howitzer that can fire out to over 70 km", Picatinny Arsenal said in a 27 February statement.

Modifications added 2.4 m to the cannon, but limited the added overall system weight to 454 kg. "The total length of the tube increased the chamber volume as well as the rifling length," Picatinny said. "That, in combination with the additional increment of legacy propellant, resulted in an increase in range of several kilometres."

The M777ER is part of a wider Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) project to develop technology that can extend ranges for all 155 mm artillery. It includes a XM907 cannon as well as XM1113 rocket-assisted projectile, the XM654 supercharge, an autoloader, and a new fire control system.

The rest of the article here: http://www.janes.com/article/68356/picatinny-arsenal-advances-m777-extended-range-howitzer

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Imagine this thing firing the new HVP.........pure insanity