America’s most accurate guided artillery shell, the M982 Excalibur, is said to be a game-changing weapon on the Ukrainian battlefield.
“It is extremely difficult to counter these American-supplied Precise Guided Artillery Shells, specifically the M982 Excalibur one, because of their complex navigation systems and very high speed.”
This above mentioned opinion was expressed in a conversation with PolitExpert magazine by military historian, former director of the Museum of the Russian Air Force – retired Colonel Yuri Knutov.
Recently, international media reported that Washington has secretly delivered Ukraine, 155mm Precision GPS-guided ammunition of the M982 Excalibur type, which is a high-tech weapon developed by two famous defence industry corporations, Raytheon and BAE Systems.
Bloomberg news agency also added that the weapons shipment was part of $92 million military aid package that was approved by the US Congress. The cost of each unit of the Excalibur Shell is 100 thousand USD. Thus, the Armed Forces of Ukraine has received a total number of 900 rounds.
The Ammunition that Pentagon has sent to the Ukrainian Army integrates Satellite and Inertial Guidence Systems. To use them, M-777, Archer and M109 Artillery Systems can be used, these three guns are already available on the Ukrainian Battlefield.
When fired from these guns, the range of the M982 Excalibur Shell can reach 40.5km, which is twice that of the Russian Most advanced shell, the M2 Type.
Military Expert Yuri Knutov, in a interview with the PE newspaper, expressed concerns that the Russian Armed Forces does not have an air defense system similar to the Iron Dome of Israel, to intercept and destroy Excalibur shells in air.
“There are some things which needs to be mentioned about the Excalibur Shell, it flies in the first part of its trajectory, with the help of its Inertial guidence system, and then the GPS enabled system guided it towards its target.”
“There is also an option for laser guidance, when the target is marked drones or artillery reconnaissance. This shell guarantees 100%and target destruction,” said the Museum Director.
According to Knutov, it is possible to prevent the launch of this artillery shell with the help of a effective Electronic Warfare System.