The Army is developing a new 155 mm artillery round that will extend cannon range to more than 24 miles (40km), with the added benefits of greater safety for service members and the ability to deliver near-precision strike capability. The XM1113 Insensitive Munition High Explosive Rocket Assisted Projectile, or XM1113 RAP, will replace the aging M549A1 rounds produced in the 1970s and 1980s and help U.S. Soldiers and Marines maintain battlefield overmatch.
“The XM1113 provides the user with cannon-launched munitions to engage targets out beyond the current 30 kilometer capability,” said Ductri Nguyen, XM1113 Integrated Product Team Lead. “The new projectile is currently designed to reach 40-plus kilometers and will be compatible with the existing M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) that provides near precision strike capability,” he said.
Soldiers can screw the PGK fuze into the fuze well of conventional 155 mm high explosive cannon artillery projectiles, replacing the standard fuze. This allows troops to turn their conventional artillery rounds into “smart” munitions with near- precision accuracy. The new artillery round achieves its extended range capabilities through increased thrust and a reengineered artillery shell shape.