U.S. General Reveals Army's Imminent Induction of Hypersonic Precision Artillery and Tactical Missiles

The U.S. Army plans to demonstrate the capabilities of its latest artillery technology under development in the near future, with new systems set to be the first of their kind in the world capable of firing hypersonic projectiles. Such weapons are expected to be able to strike harder and more precisely than previous systems fielded by the U.S. military, providing its ground forces with unprecedentedly potent firepower. Brigadier General Stephen Maranian said the Army planned to modify the cannon on existing Howitzer M777 units by widening its internal diameter from a 39-caliber to a 58-caliber and extending its length to "be able to achieve the velocity out of the tube that hypersonics would require." These modifications would take place only after the service completes testing of the XM113, a rocket assisted artillery round filled with high explosive munitions and a supplementary charge. Rocket propulsion would allow the artillery round to reach unprecedented speeds, thus facilitating the platform's hypersonic capabilities for which existing Howitzer designs would be modified.

The XM113 is currently under development at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, and according to General Maranian it could be delivered to U.S. Army's artillery teams for active service in just two and a half years. The XM113 rounds are expected to increase the range of howitzers by approximately 33%, from about 30 kilometers to 40 kilometers. The rounds can effectively operate as smart artillery, and will facilitated new levels of precision. The new hypersonic artillery rounds are set to be the first of many such systems developed for the U.S. Army. General Maranian stated regarding these developments: "The types of technologies we are looking at are those that can hone in on signals to be able to attack (enemy operated) integrated air defense assets, the ability to hit moved or moving targets across multiple domains, so both land and maritime targets that are moving and the ability to deliver loitering (intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance) to very deep ranges on the battlefield out to 500 kilometres."

While the U.S. hypersonic missile program is notably far behind that of Russia, which announced its first hypersonic missiles in early 2018, the United States is set to be the first to commission hypersonic artillery systems. The U.S. is hardly the only party to have sought to use hypersonics to increase the range and firepower of land based combat platforms, with the statement of General Maranian regarding the XM113's development as an upgrade for existing howitzers closely coinciding with the revelation that the Russian military intends to equip its Pantsir air defence systems with hypersonic missiles to enhance their strike capabilities. The General's announcement of hypersonic missile systems striking "out to 500km" referred to the maximum range of short range ballistic missiles the U.S. military is permitted to deploy due to the country's status as a signatory of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) bilateral treaty signed with Russia. Such long range precision strike missiles will nevertheless prove a potentially invaluable asset against advanced anti access area denial (A2A2) ground based systems such as the Russian S-400 and North Korean KN-06. These tactical missiles are set to fulfil a similar role to the Russian Iskander short range ballistic missiles. Hypersonic tactical missiles could be key assets to allow the U.S. military to launch a successful attack on heavily defended installations from Syria and Western Europe to North Korea by neutralising defensive assets with long distance precision strikes and thus compromising enemy A2AD systems.