On September 3rd, 2020, a Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP) fired from an U.S. Army 155mm M109A6 “Paladin” tracked SPH successfully intercepted a BQM-167 target drone simulating a cruise missile. This is “Game Changing” significant because M109s are more available and common in the field than dedicated and specialized LBASM trucks, and a HVP artillery shell’s glide body, often used for supporting ground fire, hit a small moving aerial target. Thus, a 155mm SPH firing precision-guided HVP rounds can engage and destroy incoming cruise and tactical ballistic missiles ordinary reserved for specialized, expensive, and rare Air Defense missile assets.
In this drone-intercept test, the 155mm HVP used can fire out to 58 miles (93 km or 50 nautical miles) and the HVP munition weighs in at 68 lb (31 kg) with a 46 lb (21 kg) flight body containing a warhead and guidance.
Thus, with the HVP round, not only can 155mm tube artillery engage land and sea targets, they can also intercept certain missile and aerial targets as well when teamed with remotely-located sensors such as unmanned aerial drones, Airborne Warning and Command System (AWACS) planes, and ground or ship radars that can detect enemy warships over the horizon, and send firing coordinates via secure network data-linking for Integrated Warfare (IW) operations in the U.S. Army’s “Multi-Domain Operations” (MDO) and the U.S. Navy’s “Distributed Lethality” battlefield concepts. This networking creates a “Force Multiplier Kill Chain” and the new precision-guided munitions could produce new multi-mission firepower assets for the Army and Marines to keep littoral threats at bay than just providing artillery ground fire support to advancing ground units. A new kind of “Shooter” is born.
