Army asks Northrop Grumman to build guidance kits to help guide artillery smart munitions to their targets
NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Army explosives experts are asking Northrop Grumman Corp. to provide precision-guidance kits to transform conventional 155-millimeter artillery shells into GPS-guided smart munitions.
Officials of the Army Contracting command in Newark, N.J., announced an $11.3 million order last week to the Northrop Grumman Armament Systems and Ammunition segment in Plymouth, Minn., for M1156 precision guidance kits for the Army.
The Northrop Grumman precision guidance kit (PGK) transforms existing 155-millimeter high-explosive artillery projectiles into affordable satellite-guided precision weapons.
The PGK conversion kit uses signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) to guide artillery shells to their targets with accuracy of less than 10 meters.
The low-cost reliable, fuze-sized guidance kit installs in the artillery shell's fuze well and also provides traditional fuze functions for height-of-burst and point detonation.
PGK conversion kit provides maneuver forces with an organic precision capability that works in all weather conditions, and fills a gap between conventional artillery and smart munitions capabilities.
On this contract modification Northrop Grumman will do the work in Plymouth, Minn., and should be finished by July 2026. For more information contact Northrop Grumman Armament Systems and Ammunition online at www.northropgrumman.com/what-we-do/land/armament-systems-and-ammunition, or the Army Contracting Command at www.army.mil/ACC.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
