The U.S. Army is gearing up to test, introduce or expand use of several new precision strike munitions, including the Global Positioning System-guided Excalibur projectiles, in Iraq starting next month, Army officials said April 24.

The effort comes as the Army has cut its artillery force structure in half as it tries to modernize, restructure and push down formerly division-based capabilities to the tactical brigade level, the officials told the Precision Strike Association's annual program review conference in Springfield, Va.

At least 65 Excalibur munitions have been provided to U.S. forces in Iraq and up to 500 total are eyed for operations there, according to Roger Savage, the Army's cannon ammunition synchronization officer, and Ken Britt, Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) munitions source selection officer for precision strike.

Raytheon Missile Systems and BAE Systems-Bofors successfully fired 25 Excalibur munitions during an extensive First Article Test series in November (DAILY, Dec. 20, 2006). The initial variant ranges 16-18 miles, but the 15-pound weapon is expected to hit as far away as 40 miles.

Meanwhile, Combat Ammunition Systems Program Manager Russell Hill said that the Army's XM1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) program will award a system demonstration and development award in May for 18 months.

A downselect last June cut out Raytheon while BAE Systems and Alliant Techsystems are right now undergoing a so-called shootoff at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz. Hill said the first increment, 155mm PGK is projected for fielding in fiscal 2009. Increments 2 and 3 also will be competitively awarded.

PGKs - which are supposed to cost less than $3,000 each, far below the Excalibur - are designed to improve the accuracy of so-called "dumb" 155mm and 105mm conventional cannon rounds. A Milestone B review is slated for April 27, Hill said.

At the same time the Army is working on an alternative warhead full of kinetic energy rods - essentially nails - for the Guided-MLRS program, while the service has stopped efforts toward the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which was not funded in the FY '08 request, according to Lt. Col. Mark Pincoski, precision guided munitions and rockets product manager.