WEB EXCLUSIVE: Army Looks to Add Autoloader to Extended Range Cannon
7/18/2019
By Connie Lee
The Army is examining options to add an autoloader to the extended-range cannon artillery system, according to the director of the long-range precision fires cross-functional team.
The extended long-range cannon, or ERCA, is designed to extend the range of the Paladin self-propelled howitzers to 70 kilometers, which is double its current capability. The move is part of the Army’s effort to improve its fires capabilities to counter adversaries that can outgun current systems. The first ERCA prototype will begin testing from October to January at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, Col. John Rafferty told reporters July 17 during a media day at Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.
The service has an “incremental strategy†for the system and plans to field it in a battalion in 2023. A second battalion will be fielded in 2024 with an autoloader, he noted.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2019/7/18/army-looks-to-add-autoloader-to-extendedrange-cannon-artillery-system
