Smart weapons: services focus on fielding munitions for close combat.

• Author: Kennedy, Harold
• Position: URBAN WARFARE

The Army, Navy and Marine Corps are rushing to field an array of munitions that are designed to be precise enough for close urban combat operations.

Munitions have been developed to counter decidedly different tactics that the United States faced as recently as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, said Army Col. Ernest Harris, project manager for precision-fire rockets and missile systems at Huntsville, Ala.

U.S. forces fought Saddam Hussein's army primarily on conventional battlefields. Now, they are contending with asymmetric threats posed by paramilitary, trans-national organizations whose members fight in a non-linear battlefield, Harris told the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's Firepower 2005 conference, in Washington, D.C.

"They frequently seek cover in reinforced structures or moving vehicles within a complex urban terrain," he said.

Because of these conditions, U.S. forces are required to operate under strict rules of engagement that mandate minimum collateral damage to protect non-combatants and religious and cultural landmarks, such as mosques, he said.

The services are moving quickly to provide munitions that can meet these needs. For example, the Army's project manager's office for combat ammunition systems at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is working to fulfill an urgent request to put the 155 mm guided Excalibur howitzer round, known as the XM982, into combat by early 2006.

The Excalibur, the service's first fully autonomous guided projectile, is more accurate than any other round currently available, according to Col. Ole Knudsen, project manager. During a demonstration firing at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., in September, an Excalibur hit a target 15 kilometers away. It detonated within seven meters of the target.

With this kind of accuracy, "Excalibur will reduce collateral damage, increase survivability of friendly troops and accomplish the mission more efficiently," Knudson said.

The Excalibur is an artillery shell that relies on satellite guidance to hit its targets. It is designed to be fired from all current Army and Marine howitzers, including the M109A6 Paladin, M777 lightweight and the Future Combat Systems non-line-of-sight cannon.

In June, the Army awarded Raytheon Company Missile Systems of Tucson, Ariz., which is building the Excalibur in cooperation with Bofors Defence, of Sweden, a $22 million contract to supply 165 rounds beginning this month.

The Special Operations Command in August awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation's Baltimore-based electronic systems sector a $22 million, sole-source contract to develop its Viper Strike weapon as a standoff precision-guided munition for the AC-130 gunship.

The contract, with a potential value of $48.6 million, is for an advanced concept technology demonstration program, which is...