Even Pres. When the service first created the LRPF CFT to coordinate all advanced artillery developments in 2017, the plan was to increase the range of 155mm howitzers to more than 60 miles. The Army pays somewhat less than that. A shell with a smaller unitary explosive charge or fewer cluster munitions would theoretically be lighter and able to fly further, but the question is then whether it would have sufficient destructive power to take out the intended targets. Actually the shells themselves are quite cheap, under $100 each (I have read reports that the shell, by itself, costs as low as $20 each).
Rifle Cartridge. The Army Wants Longer Barreled Howitzers To Fire Ramjet-Powered And Other Special Shells. However, it’s still half of the new goal of hitting enemies 80 miles away. US Army Eyes Replacing Its 105mm and 155mm Towed Howitzers With One New Cannon. A briefing slide shows the now-in-development self-propelled XM1299 howitzer and its new XM907 gun, as well as the XM1113 rocket-assisted shell and a notional depiction of the XM1155 ramjet-powered round, along with other systems in development under the Extended Range Cannon Artillery program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. An artillery round (a dumb, unguided projectile) costs about $1500. Yes, This Is A Ramjet Powered Artillery Shell And It Could Be A Game Changer. The XM1155 would also increase the flexibility of the Army's 155mm howitzers just by virtue of its extreme range capabilities.
With this in mind, the Army is working on two more novel ammunition types. This would also allow the shells to strike fixed targets using the GPS-INS guidance alone. Representatives from South Korean defense contractor Poongsan at the 2018 AUSA exposition had no information on a similar concept that the firm had unveiled in 2016. the cost is so astronomical that we shouldn't ask! South Africa’s Denel also developed a ramjet shell called ProRam in the mid-2000s, but that program appears to have gotten shelved indefinitely.
The project’s most visible product so far has been the XM907 howitzer cannon. At the other end of the range, a Tomahawk cruise missile costs about $575,000 each for the latest version (previous ones cost maybe to three times that). While the individual shells may cost more, a single battery of howitzers at one firebase would suddenly be able to do what would've taken multiple bases in the past. The emergency purchasing money was made available as a result of the February 2019 …