Marine Artillery Battery Unit Sets A Lethal Record

Lance Cpl. Ahmad Garland of Golf Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, holds an M982 Excalibur round at Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in April. Garland and other Golf Battery Marines fired an Excalibur round a record 36 kilometers on Feb. 12, killing a team of Taliban fighters. James J. Lee / Staff

Long Shot: Artillery Battery Sets Lethal Record -- Marine Times

A Marine unit that recently returned from Afghanistan killed a team of Taliban insurgents with a record-setting artillery strike.

Golf Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., dropped the 155mm M982 Excalibur round on insurgents 36 kilometers away — more than 22 miles — in Helmand province. The strike was launched Feb. 12 from an M777 howitzer on a mountainside at Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge, in Kajaki, to neighboring Musa Qala district, Marines said.

It marks the longest operational artillery shot in history for the Marine Corps, said Capt. Joshua Kling, the battery commander.

Read more ....

My Comment: It is a shame that my father is no longer alive .... artillery was his specialty in the Second World War, and I know that he would be truly impressed by this story.

US 155mm Howitzer In Action Against Militants In Afghanistan

United States soldiers firing 155mm Howitzer rounds towards insurgent positions at forward operating base Joyce in Afghanistan's Kunar Province

Iranian Laser Guided Artillery Round

Iranian 152mm/155mm laser-guided artillery round is said to be capable of targeting the stationary or moving targets and has a range of around 20 kilometres.

This  laser-guided artillery round will allow Islamic Republic of Iran Army to deploy the artillery in close support situations where high accuracy is extremely important.

Click Here To Continue Reading

M777 155mm Ultralightweight Towed Field Howitzer

The M777 is an  ultralightweight 155 mm towed field howitzer was developed by the BAE Systems' Global Combat Systems division to replace the existing inventory of M198 155mm towed howitzers in the United States Marine Corps and United States Army. 

The M777 155mm Ultralightweight Towed Field Howitzer has been purchased by the Canadian and Australian Armies while Indian Army also plans to purchase around 145 M777.

The M777 155mm Ultralightweight Towed Field Howitzer is 42 percent lighter than the M198 155mm towed howitzers.

List of Indian Defence Deals with United States

Long list of Indian defence deals with the United States includes 16 C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft, 512 CBU-105 sensor fuzed weapons, 99 F414-GE-INS6 power plant for LCA, 24 L-model Harpoon Block II, 22 AH-64D Block III Apache helicopters, 812 AGM-114L-3 HELLFIRE LONGBOW missiles, 542 AGM-114R-3 HELLFIRE II missiles, 245 STINGER Block I-92H missiles, 12 P-8I Maritime Patrol and Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft.

Click Here To Read More

Marines with Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, fire an M982 Excalibur round from an M777 howitzer d

US Marines of 12th Marine Regiment firing M982 Excalibur 155 mm extended range guided artillery shell from an M777 Ultralight-weight Field Howitzer (UFH).

The M777 Ultralight-weight Field Howitzer (UFH) is a towed 155 mm artillery piece which has replaced the older M198 howitzer in the United States Marine Corps.

Click Here To Continue Reading

Libyan Rebels Fighting Pro-Gadhafi Forces Near 'Bani Walid'

Libyan Rebels Firing with Heavy Machine guns at the Pro-Gadhafi Forces Near 'Bani Walid'

Click Here To Continue Reading

US Army Soldiers Firing 120mm Mortar Round

US army soldiers firing 120mm mortar round in a combined arms live fire exercise at Destiny Range.

Click Here To Continue Reading

Libyan Rebels with Russian SPG-9 Recoilless Gun: Libyan Conflict

Click Here To Continue Reading

Iraqi 105th Field Artillery Regiment's M198 155mm Howitzer

Iraqi crew of 105th Field Artillery Regiment, 5th Iraqi Army Division emplace a M198 155mm howitzer  at Kirkush Military Training Base, Diyala province, Iraq.

Click Here To Continue Reading

Why The Taliban Fear The "Finger of Death"

Artillerymen prepare an XM982 Excalibur 155mm projectile for a fire mission. (U.S. Army photo courtesy of the Multi-National Division-Baghdad Public Affairs Office.)

Taliban Fear 155mm Excalibur “Finger of Death” -- Defense Tech

Apropos of our earlier post on precision guided indirect fire and the Army’s decision to cut its buy of Excalibur precision 155mm rounds, our own Christian Lowe checks in from his embed out near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border:

I spoke with an artillery forward observer with Angel Company, 3–187, at FOB Sharana the other day who told me about the few times he’s employed the Excalibur precision 155 round.

Read more ....

My Comment: We do not hear much news on how development and research has propelled artillery to be an effective and accurate tool to be used on any battlefield. This brief post gives a glimmer on how much this has changed in the past few years.

Troops Clamor For Precision Mortars

From DoD Buzz:

A few weeks back we wrote about a new Army program, the Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI), a response to an urgent request from Afghanistan to get troops precision mortar fire. While we tend to focus on big ticket items, it’s often the smaller weapons that make huge differences to troops in the field, particularly those chasing fleeting Taliban around Afghanistan’s harsh mountainous terrain. By providing prompt, precise, indirect fire support to the individual rifle squad, the precision mortar is one such weapon.

I spoke to Maj. Jeffrey Hilt, the program lead for the Army from PEO Mortars, to get some more information on the status of the program, where it’s going.

Read more ....

My Comment: When I think of GPS directed munitions, I always envision large bombs and missiles .... but a mortar? It seems that technology is making us better and more accurate killers on the battlefield.

Army's Newest Howitzer: The M777 Howitzer

M777 Howitzer (Photo from Army Recognition)

Europe-Based Soldiers Get Chance To Test-Fire, Train With Army's Newest Howitzer -- U.S. Army

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- Improvements in technology and weaponry are dire necessities in modern warfare. They achieve success on the battlefield and enable Soldiers to complete successful missions in support of the ongoing Global War on Terrorism.

On July 24, Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment FIRES Squadron became the first unit in Europe to fire the Army's new M777 Howitzers at the Joint Multinational Training Command's Grafenwoehr Training Area.

"Being the first unit in Europe to fire this new weapon is an amazing honor," said Sgt. 1st Class Steven Jarvis, a section chief with the 2SCR. "This is the high point in my career. This is a big deal for an artillery Soldier and something to remember for a long time."

Read more ....

My Comment: In a world with precision missiles .... you would think that artillery would become passe .... obviously not.