The initiative to develop longer range precision weapons is entirely consistent with the Navy’s often discussed “distributed lethality” strategy. The idea is to not only better arm the fleet with more lethal and effective offensive and defensive weapons but also enable the fleet to better “distribute” its forces across wider swaths of geography, Navy leaders explain.   

The Navy is seeking longer-range precision weapons for its deck-mounted “5-inch” guns to better destroy enemy targets, defend maritime forces on the move in combat and support amphibious operations.

Every Navy Cruiser and Destroyer has, for decades, been armed with “5-inch” guns to attack land and sea targets from the deck of a ship. In existence since the 70s, the weapon can be used to attack enemy targets or lay down suppressive fire so that maritime forces can better maneuver or reposition while in battle.

However, the 5-inch guns, called Mk 45, have a maximum effective range of up to 13 or 15 miles, and the current rounds lack precision so many rounds need to be fired in order to ensure that targets are destroyed.

Several industry developers are manufacturing and testing new ammunition for the Mk 45 able to more than triple its range and add precision targeting technology. Navy weapons developers tell Scout Warrior they are still analyzing various industry responses to a Request for Information on the 5-inch gun precision round technology.  

One of the industry technologies now being considered by the Navy is the "Vulcano" round from BAE Systems and Leonardo. Vulcano is part of a new family of ammunition engineered with GPS precision guidance inertial measurement unit technology, said John Perri, Business Development Director, Advanced Weapons, BAE Systems. 

"Vulcano can use semi-active laser technology where a UAV (drone) or forward observer designate a target. As the munition approaches the target, it picks up on the reflected laser energy which guides it to impact," Perri said in an interview with Scout Warrior. 

The technology of the round is advancing along a particular developmental trajectory, beginning with GPS guidance before expanding to include an infrared terminal seeker able to detect the heat signature emanating from a target. The weapon also uses a programmable fuse which can be set prior to launch. 

"When you can hit a target with fewer rounds more accurately, you do not have as much collateral damage and you can stay on the gun fire line to address targets for a longer duration before the ship has to go replenish. This benefits the logistics burden put on the fleet," Perri added. 

Their are a number of other tactical combat advantages offered by using the Vulcano, such at being able to pinpoint land or maritime targets from a much safer stand-off distance. 

Vulcano is being considered by the US military while also being qualified and developed by the Italian military.

The initiative to develop longer range precision weapons is entirely consistent with the Navy’s often discussed “distributed lethality” strategy. The idea is to not only better arm the fleet with more lethal and effective offensive and defensive weapons but also enable the fleet to better “distribute” its forces across wider swaths of geography, Navy leaders explain.   

The prospect of dispersing and aggregating forces will allow the fleet to better confuse potential adversaries and make it more difficult for enemy precision weaponry to pinpoint and attack U.S. Navy ships, Navy weapons developers have explained. 

The BAE-Leonardo Vulcano round can also be fired from the new Advanced Gun System on the Navy's USS Zumwalt stealthy destroyer; BAE's Advanced Gun System can fire a munition called the Long-Range Land Attack Projectile able to strike target at ranges out to 64 nautical miles. Vulcano is built as both a 155m round and a 5-inch round for the Mk 45. As a result, the Vulcano round can also fire from US Army 155m artillery weapons such as an M777 and M109 Paladin. 

The Vulcano is designed to be valuable for amphibious Marine Corps forces in need of fire support while approaching shore The Marine Corps has been pursuing a precision round able to support amphibious operations. This will enable approaching amphibious forces to attack and pinpoint land targets well in advance of coming ashore. 

The Navy is also analyzing a Raytheon-engineered Excalibur N5 variant designed to achieve several of the same objectives as the Volcano round such as increased precision and longer range. 

When it comes to maritime targets, however, the Navy might be interested in what is called “millimeter wave” seeker technology, weapons developers have explained. This guidance technology is able to help the weapon guide its way to a target in bad weather or conditions where a target could be obscured by various conditions such as rough seas.

This first appeared in Scout Warrior here.