Mainies Fire The Insanely Accurate and Extremely Deadly Excalibur Munition. Their Reactions Are Priceless.
United States Marines try out the M982 Excalibur artillery-shell for the first time on their M777 howitzer in the Helmen Providence, Afghanistan. This projectile could easily be the most expensive shell this gunner has ever fired in his entire career. Take a look.
Watch
https://youtu.be/nfESvQIpdz8?t=144
The Excalibur has precision GPS guidance that more than makes up for the impressive price tag. The munition reportedly can strike a specific floor on a building in a busy city with minimal damage to the surrounding structures.
Munition Specs and Brief History Available on Wikipedia:
The M982 Excalibur (previously XM982) is a 155 mm extended range guided artillery shell developed by Raytheon Missile Systems and BAE Systems AB. It is a GPS-guided munition capable of being used in close support situations within 75–150 meters (246–492 ft) of friendly troops or in situations where targets might be prohibitively close to civilians to attack with unguided artillery fire…
Excalibur was developed as a longer-ranged alternative to conventional artillery shells, with GPS guidance for improved accuracy. Excalibur has a range of approximately 40 to 57 kilometers (25 to 35 mi) depending on configuration, with a circular error probable (CEP) of around 5 meters (16 ft) to 20 meters (66 ft). The extended range is achieved through the use of folding glide fins, which allow the projectile to glide from the top of a ballistic arc towards the target.
The munition was co-developed by United States-based Raytheon Missile Systems (guidance system) and the Swedish BAE Systems Bofors (body, base, ballistics, and payload) Excalibur is used to minimize collateral damage, for targets beyond the range of standard munitions, for precise firing within 150 meters (490 ft) of friendly troops, or when firing in a straight line from the launching cannon is limited by terrain. It has a multi-function fuze that can be programmed to explode in the air, once it hits a hard surface, or after it penetrates inside a target. One Excalibur projectile can accurately hit an intended target that would require the use of between 10 and 50 unguided artillery rounds.
