Indian public broadcaster, The Economic Times, quoting government sources, reported that India has taken a step towards acquiring Excalibur 155 mm precision-guided artillery rounds.
Indian Defense Forces seek to acquire the capability to hit enemy positions close to populated areas without causing collateral damage. To achieve this, the Indian government looks to buy modern USA-made Excalibur precision-guided artillery projectile, that uses GPS guidance to provide accurate fire-for-effect capability in any environment.
“The Indian Army is planning to acquire the Excalibur artillery ammunition from the Americans under the emergency procurement procedures,” government sources said.
The acquisition case is being processed under the emergency powers for procurement of weapon systems and ammunition to be war-ready in post-Pulwama attack-like situations.
The ammunition is being acquired for units deployed along the Line of Control where artillery shelling by Pakistan is a common feature.
The Excalibur projectile enables the Soldier to service a precisely located target with first-round effects, denying the enemy the ability to take protective measures or flee the area. Excalibur’s achieved and relatively limited damage radius allows for target engagement within close proximity.
The Excalibur projectile uses a jam-resistant internal GPS receiver to update the inertial navigation system, providing precision in-flight guidance and dramatically improving accuracy to less than two meters miss distance regardless of range. The Excalibur projectile has three fuze options (point-detonation, point-detonation delay and height-of-burst) and is employable in all weather conditions and terrains.
The Excalibur’s capabilities allow for first-round effects-on-target while simultaneously minimizing collateral damage and the number of rounds required to engage targets.