The team fired the 155 mm rounds from a 39-caliber cannon against a tank target. Each firing used a different configuration to evaluate performance.
The trials are the second part of the Guided Test Vehicle series for the XM1180 Cannon-Delivered Area Effects Munition Armor program’s hit-to-kill concept. Yuma Test Center worked with Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems, DEVCOM-Armaments Center, Raytheon and other organizations.
The test sequence distinguishes between finding a target and using seeker data to guide the projectile. Lovjoat Singh, the DEVCOM-Armaments Center engineer responsible for overall test planning and execution, explained how the two stages work.
“Open-loop test means the seeker is going to be seeking a target but not actually acting upon it. Then closed loop is actually using the seeker to guide to a target.”
Casey Scharenbroich, an evaluator with Operational Evaluation Command, attended to assess the projectile’s technological maturity. He described a seeker that creates an image of the target area, finds a target within it and is intended to use that image for guidance.
“It would be a huge advantage on the battlefield for commanders, allowing them to engage targets that have moved or are on the move with this munition,” Scharenbroich said. He will also assess how the technology could be applied to XM1230.
Yuma Test Center Test Officer Ashley Lochetto said the technology could reduce collateral damage. She identified GPS-denied testing and integration into XM1230 as the next steps.
“our intent is to conduct GPS denied testing of the (seeker) along with integrating it into the XM1230 Extended Range Artillery Projectile,” Lochetto said. Testing of XM1230 is planned at Yuma Test Center in the next few months.
The C-DAEM Armor Guided Test Vehicle series will continue through fiscal year 2027. That work will provide further testing of the seeker technology being considered for the newer projectile.
