PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - Picatinny recently delivered the 500th M777A2 howitzer to U.S. military troops.
The M777A2 Lightweight 155 mm Howitzer, simply referred to as the M777A2 or the LW155, provides direct, reinforcing and general support fires to maneuver forces.
The recent fielding represents that "a significant number of M777A2's have now been fielded to both the Army and (the Marine Corps), providing significantly greater combat capability to our troops," explained Joint Program Manager for the Lightweight 155 mm Howitzer Jim Shields.
The 500th M777A2 was fielded to the 2nd Stryker Calvary Regiment with the Army's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Vilseck, Germany.
The M777A2 uses an advanced digital fire control system to precisely and accurately locate and aim the weapon, and can deliver long range 155 mm artillery fire to support ground troops who are engaging the enemy, Shields said.
He said it also has the ability to program and fire the Excalibur precision guided munition thereby providing maneuver commanders the ability to engage targets with a precision strike capability.
The total number of orders for the gun was at 737 in May.
The M777A2 replaces all howitzers in all missions for the Marine Corps and replaces the M198 howitzer as the general-support artillery for light forces in the Army.
Canada also has 16 M777A2 howitzers in service with the Royal Horse Artillery. Both nations' services operate the M777A2 in Afghanistan, providing fire support to coalition forces. The U.S. military is also using the gun in Iraq.
Canada will be receiving an additional 21 howitzers. Australia has a foreign military sale case underway to purchase the M777A2.
The M777A2 fires unassisted projectiles to a range of 15 miles and assisted projectiles to 19 miles, but the addition of the digital fire control system enables the weapon to program and fire the improved Excalibur precision-guided munition to ranges in excess of 25 miles with and land within 10 meters of its target.
It is able to fire up to five rounds per minute and is capable of firing high-explosive rounds up to 25 kilometers and place them within three meters of their intended targets.
Weighing in at less than 4,200 kilograms, the revolutionary M77A27 is the world's first artillery weapon to make widespread use of titanium and aluminum alloys, resulting in a howitzer that is half the weight of conventional 155 mm systems.
"The weight reduction improves transportability and mobility without impacting range or accuracy," Shields said.
The lightweight M777A2 can be air lifted into remote high altitude locations inaccessible by ground transportation and is capable of being transported by the Marine Corps' new V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft as well as all medium- and heavy-lift helicopters.
Some M777A2 facts:
Aca,!AcThe M777A2 can fire the "smart" Excalibur round, co-developed by Global Combat Systems up to 40 kilometers accurately enough to target individual rooms within a building, reducing the chance of innocent casualties and allowing supporting fire to be brought down much closer to friendly troops.
Aca,!AcIt can hurl a standard 43.5 kilogram shell almost 21 miles at 2.5 times the speed of sound. The projectile takes just over a minute to fly the distance and reaches a maximum height of 12 kilometers. The shell reaches its maximum speed of 1,800 miles per hour by the time it exits the muzzle of the gun.
Aca,!AcThe energy released firing at maximum range is 40 mega joules, which is the equivalent of accelerating 55 family cars to 45 miles per hour in just 12-thousandths of a second.
Aca,!AcThe internal cannon peak pressure during firing reach 60,000 pounds per square inch.
Aca,!AcThe wind speed, meteorological conditions and even the earth's rotation all have to be taken into account for accurate targeting.
Aca,!AcThe gun remains stable when firing, despite its light weight, by being "out of balance" - the barrel is mounted low and forward to prevent the gun overturning when it is fired.
The M777A2 effort is managed by the Light Weight 155 mm Joint Program office here.
BAE Systems Global Combat Systems' facility in Hattiesburg is responsible for final integration and testing of the weapon system.
The prime contract management of the M777 program, manufacture and assembly of the complex titanium structures and associated recoil components are undertaken at Barrow-in-Furness in the United Kingdom.
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