US Army orders additional precision guidance kits from Orbital ATK

credits : Orbital ATK

11 March 2015 army-technology.com

Orbital ATK has been awarded a contract to supply additional precision guidance kits (PGKs) to the US Army for 155mm artillery systems.

Under the terms of the $120m agreement, the company will be responsible for the production, lot acceptance testing and delivery of guidance fuses for the US and select allied forces.

PGK is a guidance fuse designed to fit within the fuse well of 155mm high-explosive artillery projectiles and can transform existing, conventional artillery projectiles into precision weapons that significantly reduce dispersion to 30m or less, enabling accurate targeting.

Orbital ATK Defense Systems Group Armament Systems division vice-president and general manager Dan Olson said: "This contract signing marks another significant milestone for the PGK programme.

"Fielding PGK for use with existing artillery projectiles provides soldiers with a distinct battlefield advantage, by greatly reducing the inherent dispersion associated with conventional artillery.

"As a proven and qualified technology, the next step is growing PGK into future precision applications for either existing or new direct and indirect-fire weapons systems."

The kit features a fixed-canard guidance and control approach with gun-hardened electronics and a self-generated power supply, and also incorporates a fail safe option, which prevents PGK-equipped artillery from detonating if it fails to get close enough to the target.

The kit was supplied to the US military for training and tactical operations in Afghanistan through an urgent release in March 2013.

PGK programme management, systems integration and production is overseen by Orbital ATK Defense Systems Group's Armament Systems division in Plymouth, Minnesota, US.

Deliveries are scheduled to start next year, without a production break from low-rate initial production, which started in January.