Warzone/The Drive: Yes, This Is A Ramjet Powered Artillery Shell And It Could Be A Game Changer
The new round could dramatically extend the range of existing guns and significantly expand the flexibility of even small artillery units.
Norway's Nammo has unveiled a potentially revolutionary concept for an air-breathing, ramjet-powered, pseudo-missile that any standard 155mm howitzer can fire at targets more than 60 miles away. The U.S. Army has already expressed an interest in just such a projectile, which could also end up in service with the U.S. Marine Corps, and the round might finally offer a way for the U.S. Navy to make use of the cannons on its new, stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers.
The defense contractor revealed a full-size mockup of the design, which it is simply calling the 155mm Solid Fuel Ramjet at present, at the biennial Eurosatory arms expo in the French capital Paris, which began on June 11, 2018. The firm expects to begin live-fire testing of the projectile in 2019 or 2020 and hopes to have the new ammunition in production and in operational service with a military by between 2023 and 2024.
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WNU Editor: I suspect that this ramjet-powered shell will be cheaper to hit a target than using a missile or calling in an airstrike.
