YUMA, Ariz., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- British company BAE Systems has fired 1,000 shots from the FCS Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon firing platform.
BAE Systems said in a statement earlier this month that it would "continue NLOS Cannon firing platform testing with a goal of firing 4,400 rounds through the system by spring 2008 in order to receive a safety certification for the fully automated howitzer. Lessons learned from the firing platform are being applied to the build of the first FCS Manned Ground Vehicle, the NLOS Cannon pre-production prototype, scheduled for delivery by summer 2008."
"The data we've gathered from these tests are being directly applied to the prototype chassis and gun assemblies we are now building and will begin integrating later this winter," said Mark Signorelli, NLOS Cannon program manager at BAE Systems.
"The NLOS Cannon, being developed in partnership with the Lead Systems Integrator team of Boeing and SAIC, will be the first of the eight Manned Ground Vehicle -- MGV -- variants to be developed and fielded as part of the Future Combat Systems program," BAE Systems said.
"FCS MGVs will provide the Army with a new family of networked vehicles, based on a common chassis, that will feature next-generation survivability and sustainability features," said Roger Bescancenez, Boeing Integrated Product Team leader for FCS Manned Ground Vehicles.
BAE Systems describes itself as "the premier global defense and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 96,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded $27 billion in 2006."
