Officially, the future of Army long-range precision has been designated.
The Army verified on Monday that it intends to designate the brand new 155mm self-propelled howitzer developed for the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) program as the M1299, according to Army Recognition.
The ERCA gun, which was developed in response to growing apprehensions regarding near-peer adversaries such as Russia and China, demonstrated pinpoint accuracy at a distance of 62 kilometers while undergoing testing at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in March. This significantly surpasses the ranges of the M109A7 Paladin (30 kilometers) and M777 (40 kilometers when equipped with the M982 Excalibur guided artillery shell) howitzers.
According to Army Recognition, the M1299 will be equipped with two “state-of-the-art technologies” in comparison to those systems: an experimental XM1113 rocket-assisted artillery shell and an extended 58 caliber tube that will increase the range of conventional howitzers from 38 kilometers to 70 kilometers and, eventually, an astounding 100 kilometers “within the next four years.”
Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCannon) is an advancement over the most recent iteration of the Paladin self-propelled howitzer, which supplies brigade combat teams and divisions with indirect firepower.
Defense News quoted Col. John Rafferty, chief of the long-range precision fire cross-functional team, as saying, “We are aware that we require the range to maintain the advantage.” “We require 70 to 80 kilometers to begin, after which we will be capable of covering a greater distance. We are presently approaching 70 kilometers with ERCA.”
Extended range represents merely a component of the Army’s ceaseless quest for lethality. In order to increase the howitzer’s rate of fire from 3 rpm to 10 rpm, the M1299 will integrate a fully automated ammo loading system. However, according to a March report by Defense News, the Army does not anticipate entirely integrating the system “beyond the first iteration” until 2024.
However, soldiers may not have to wait that long to obtain the ERCA program’s new technology: the Army awarded BAE Systems a $45 million contract weeks prior to the official M1299 designation, which aims to integrate different components of the ERCA system into current and future Paladin howitzers.
Regardless, the M1299 deserves congratulations on being granted an alpha-numeric military designation. We pray that your forthcoming baptism is a fire baptism.