Excalibur fired from South African gun

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TUCSON, May 9 (UPI) -- Raytheon has successfully fired it Excalibur 155mm precision-guided artillery projectiles from a South African-made, self-propelled howitzer.

Multiple rounds fired from Denel's G6 weapon were fired from ranges up to as much as 23.6 miles from the target and all landed within 16.4 feet of it, Raytheon said.

"These trials demonstrated Excalibur can give a true precision capability to G6 howitzers that can enhance the warfighter's defensive posture," said Kevin Matthies, Excalibur program director for Raytheon Missile Systems. "Excalibur improves tactical war fighting capability by providing precision that is essential to close-combat operations."

Excalibur 155mm artillery shells, which employ GPS technology for precision guidance, were first fielded in 2007 and are used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corp. Because of its precision, it is used in tactical situations in which collateral damage is an important consideration for military commanders.

Additional details of the test firings were not disclosed.