Bofors Defence and Raytheon
Successfully Conduct World's First
GPS Guided 155mm Artillery Shell Flight Test

In a first-of-a-kind test earlier this month, the Raytheon Missile Systems and Bofors Defence Excalibur team successfully fired a global positioning satellite-guided 155mm artillery shell, which guided to a target aim point 20 kilometers down range.

The shell hit less than 3.4 meters from the aim point, well within the performance specification of Excalibur.

"This test was a complete success," said Raytheon's Program Manager John Halvey. "We could not be happier. This success demonstrates the hard work and dedication that the team has strived for in order to put precision munitions into the war fighters hands at the earliest possible date."

"The test's success marks a key milestone for fielding Excalibur in conjunction with the M777 howitzer in fiscal year 2006 to a Stryker Brigade of the US Army 25th Infantry Division," said Lt. Col. William Cole, the US Army's Excalibur product manager at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.

The program is a cooperative effort between the United States and Sweden. The Excalibur round was fired from the new 155mm light howitzer XM777, which will replace the M198 howitzer.

Using a tactical propellant charge of Modular Artillery Charge System-Four (MACS 4), the round successfully executed navigation and guidance after GPS acquisition.

The shell demonstrated proper navigation and guidance despite experiencing extreme G-force during gun launch.

The shell completed numerous flight adjustments using its Control Actuator System and hit the target at a near vertical descent.

This near vertical descent is ideal for urban warfare due to the limited space available between city structures.

Excalibur's extreme accuracy will reduce collateral damage and make artillery a force multiplier for commanders on the ground.

"The round's most significant accomplishment was successful Roll Capture, GPS acquisition and Navigation after a tactical gun launch," said Stefan Blomgren, Bofors Defence Program Director for Excalibur.

Excalibur uses GPS technology to deliver a variety of lethal payloads to a target more than 40 kilometers away when fired from a 39 caliber howitzer, and more than 50 kilometers away when fired from the Swedish 52 caliber Archer howitzer system.

The Excalibur program is a key element of the transformation of cannon artillery to provide responsive precision strike capability.

This capability will offer high lethality, increased range, and low collateral damage, while greatly reducing the logistical burden for future deployed ground forces.


Forward-Looking Statements:
Information in this release may involve guidance, expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.

All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to United Defense Industries, Inc., as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Numerous factors could cause or contribute to such differences.

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