JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - SEPTEMBER 06, 2006
Power system snags add to Excalibur deployment delay
Stephen Trimble JDW Americas Bureau Chief
Washington, DC
A US Army plan to rush a simplified version of the Raytheon/BAE Systems Bofors XM982 Excalibur projectile into the field is being delayed again to the second quarter Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07).
The new delay means that initial fielding of the first Excalibur - a precision-guided, 155 mm artillery round - will take place within three to six months of the original fielding schedule.
David Brockway, senior manager for business development at Raytheon Missile Systems, said there were significant challenges in trying to move Excalibur's deployment to the field in 2006. "Given how important it was for the guys in the field, we accepted a lot of risk and everything didn't work out perfect," he said.
The army originally planned to deploy the first Excalibur rounds in June 2007. By early 2005, however, the fighting in Iraq had created an urgent need for an artillery round with the Excalibur's precision.
The army signed a USD22 million order in June 2005 for the Boeing/BAE Systems Bofors team to deliver 140 Excalibur rounds by March, but hardware glitches with the round's GPS/Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) delayed initial fielding to October 2006.
The army completed a second series of test firings in July, but discovered a new issue. After exposure to extreme cold temperatures, the power supply to the Excalibur's guidance system failed to operate properly.
"The problem related to the power system, not the battery," Brockway explained. "There was a problem with the way other components were taking power from the battery." A solution for this issue has already been identified, but the initial fielding date of the Excalibur Block 1A-1 round is delayed again to between January and March 2007, Brockway said.
The Block 1A-1 was designed to meet the army's accelerated deployment schedule. Its maximum range is limited to about 23 km, or one-third the Excalibur's requirement of 35 km to 40 km. The initial round's shorter distance is a function of the army's certification schedule for the Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS)-5, which is the enabler technology for the longer-range Excalibur variant.
The army has plans to buy 386 more Block 1A-1 rounds through FY07. Low-rate production of the Block 1A-2 with the increased range capability should begin in FY08. However, the Raytheon/BAE Systems Bofors team may face competition for the Block 1B contract award scheduled for FY09. Alliant Techsystems has announced its intention to submit a competitive offer for the Block 1B round, which is expected to feature significantly lower unit costs.