New howizer shells give US artillery range up to 44 miles

 Popular Mechanics:

Two defense contractors—one from the U.S. and one from Europe—have teamed up to produce a new howitzer round that could make artillery the dominant arm of land warfare. The Ramjet 155 artillery shell (pictured above) can not only range out as far as 44 miles, it can lock onto and destroy moving targets. The shell, currently under testing, would allow U.S. and NATO armies to strike targets while safely out of range of Russian and Chinese artillery.

The latest Ramjet 155 test, announced by Boeing and Nammo this week, was conducted on June 28 at the Andøya Test Center in Norway. The shell’s ramjet engine ignited successfully and it “demonstrated flight stability with a well-controlled engine combustion process.”

For more than two decades, artillery technology has been a relatively low priority for the U.S. military. The post-9/11 emphasis on guerrilla wars and fighting against low-capability adversaries like the Islamic State and the Taliban has reduced the need for powerful, long-range artillery. The U.S. Army and Marines, lacking a credible enemy artillery threat, have been able to operate with impunity, setting up protected artillery sites without too much concern for enemy artillery fire, with air strikes filling the gap to hit very long-range targets.

The shift back to big power conflict is changing that. U.S. ground forces must once again contend with fighting large armies with high-tech weaponry, ensuring that American equipment is technically superior to those fielded by potential adversaries. Aircraft attacking very long-range targets have the potential to be shot down in the process, losing a pilot and $100 million aircraft. The artillery war between Ukraine and Russia—with both sides pounding away with hundreds of howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems daily—is a brutal, real-world reminder of the power of artillery and what happens to losers in an artillery duel.
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The new Ramjet 155 shell, jointly developed by Boeing and Norwegian defense company Nammo, is the first artillery shell to use a ramjet for propulsion. The shell has been in development since 2019, when the Army funded it as part of the XM1155 Extended Range Artillery Projectile program. Ramjets are air-breathing engines that suck in air at high speeds and then mix it with gasses produced by fuel combustion. The air and exhaust under pressure is then expelled through the rear nozzle, producing thrust.
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Those tradeoffs are well worth it. Older artillery systems without precision guidance lacked the ability to land a shell directly on top of a target, instead neutralizing targets by dropping multiple shells nearby. Ramjet 155’s precision guidance system is likely accurate enough to drop a shell on top of the target. That requires fewer shells lobbed and less high explosives per shell. Artillery units will also be able to provide support to ground forces that was previously supplied by strike fighters and attack helicopters. Plus, the ability to shoot moving targets puts a bullseye on enemy tanks.

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Ramjet 155 isn’t a game changer by itself, as the gunners manning their howitzers can’t see enemy forces 44 miles away. The new shell will change the game once it is dropped into a reconnaissance-strike system that pairs drones and other intelligence-gathering systems with long-range artillery, the two groups connected by secure communications. Artillery units will be able to shoot deeper into enemy territory, and fire more shells without moving to avoid enemy fire. It’s a stunning combination that should give any potential adversary pause.

The extended range will give the US an advantage over conventional enemy artillery.  I suspect the US is already testing this artillery against Russian forces in Ukraine.