U.S. Army orders more GPS guidance kits for artillery projectiles

Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC, part of Northrop Grumman Corporation, has received a $167,7 million contract modification for the Precision Guidance Kit (PGK).

The contract modification, award from U.S. Army Contracting Command, provides for the manufacturing and delivery of additional GPS guidance kits designed to reduces the ballistic dispersion of conventional 155mm artillery projectiles – transforming them into near-precision weapons.

The work, which is is expected to be complete in May 2024, will be performed in Plymouth, Minnesota.

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As noted by the company, PGK is an example of how leveraging existing weapons systems and transforming them with incremental technology enhancements can deliver the warfighter an overmatch capability that has greater reliability and effectiveness at a fraction of the cost of more advanced munitions.

The guidance kit, which replaces conventional artillery projectile fuzes and requires no additional modifications to the existing projectile inventories, provides greater precision which in addition to being more effective against enemy targets also reduces the potential for collateral damage to friendly troops and non-combatants.

This ability to deliver precision fires and reduce collateral damage greatly increases the utility of cannon fires for use on today s dynamic battlefield which includes a range of asymmetric threats as well as the emergence of peer adversaries.

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