Doubles Range of Navy’s Big Guns
On 6 May Raytheon announced that it has completed a fresh round of successful firings of the EXCALIBUR N5 precision-guided munition in collaboration with the US Navy (USN).
Designed to be fired from the Navy’s 5in guns, EXCALIBUR N5 is the sea-based variant of the revolutionary, extended-range precision munition used by ground forces around the globe. The EXCALIBUR weapon provides accurate, first-round effects at all ranges in all weather conditions.
“EXCALIBUR N5 answers the Navy’s need for a sea-launched, precision-guided projectile,” commented Raytheon Land Warfare Systems Vice President, Sam Deneke. “N5 doubles the range of the Navy’s big guns and delivers the same accuracy as the land-based version.”
EXCALIBUR impacts at a radial miss distance of less than 2m from the target: over 1,400 rounds have been fired in combat by US and international artillery forces. The precision-guided projectile was co-developed by Raytheon and BAE Systems Bofors. Besides N5, Raytheon has developed other variants such as the laser-guided EXCALIBUR S, EXCALIBUR HTK and EXCALIBUR Shaped Charged Trajectory.
