Indian Army fires lethal Excalibur artillery ammunition in Pokhran

The Indian Army tested its latest artillery ammunition, the Excalibur precision-guided shells from the US-made M777 Howitzer in Pokhran on Monday.

This is the first time the Excalibur ammunition was tested since its procurement in October.

The Indian Army procured over 600 rounds of the Excalibur ammunition from the US in October to increase the firepower of artillery. The ammunition can be fired from all 155 mm guns. This includes Bofors, M777 Howitzer, K9 Vajra and Dhanush artillery guns.The procurement was done after emergency powers were given to vice chief to fast-track critical purchases in wake of ammunition shortage in the Indian army.

The US Embassy in India tweeted about the tests done on Monday.

Today @adgpi conducted test-firing of the newly acquired U.S. Excalibur precision-guided munitions at Pokhrana new capability that will integrate with the U.S.-origin M777 Ultralight Howitzer. #PartnersInDefense #USIndiaDefense the US embassy tweet said.

Indian army bought two types of Excalibur. There were 500 rounds of ammunition that could that have the accuracy of 20 metres from the target and over 100 rounds that can strike as close as 2 metres to the target.

Army sources said the tests were done a firing analysis will be done to make an assessment.

Along with the Excalibur, a precision-guided kit that is put on shells to increase the accuracy of the target were also fired as part of the tests.

The Excalibur ammunition has more range and better accuracy that makes it lethal can hit targets at 40-50 km depending on the artillery gun used.

 indiatoday