The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the U.S. State Department had approved the sale of Excalibur tactical projectiles to the Netherlands.
The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $40.55 million sale of 199 Excalibur Increment IB M982Al tactical projectiles to the Netherlands, the Pentagon said on Friday after notifying Congress of the certification.
The statement added that deal also included technical assistance, training, associated support equipment, and other related elements of logistics and program support.
The Dutch munitions procurement would be put in the field alongside conventional artillery units equipped with the German-made PzH2000NL self-propelled howitzer “to provide precision fires capability in order to reduce collateral damage and increase effectiveness in various areas of operation,” according to the DSCA announcement. Raytheon is the prime contractor.
The Excalibur munition is compatible with the M777, M109 series, M198, the Archer and PzH2000. It’s also compatible with the AS90, K9 and G6 howitzers.
The Raytheon’s website said the Excalibur projectile is a true precision weapon, impacting at a radial miss distance of less than two meters from the target. Unlike “near precision” guidance systems, the Excalibur weapon provides accurate first-round effects at all ranges in all weather conditions. This weapon system also extends the reach of .39-caliber artillery to 40 km and .52-caliber artillery to more than 50 km.