FORT BRAGG, N.C., March 15 (UPI) -- Ten military personnel were injured when an artillery cannon exploded at Fort Bragg, N.C., a U.S. Marines spokesman said.
An apparent in-bore explosion of an M777A2 -- a new lightweight howitzer cannon that fires 155mm artillery rounds -- occurred during a live-fire exercise, injuring eight Marines and two Navy personnel, The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer reported.
The Marines have halted all firing "until safe training can resume," Staff Sgt. Jayson Price, a spokesman for the base, said.
Two of the injured troops were flown to University of North Carolina hospitals in Chapel Hill, and eight were taken to the Womack Army Medical Center emergency room.
The troops were part of Camp Lejeune's 10th Marine Division, a unit of which travels to Fort Bragg every spring for artillery training, Price said.
The Marines have been using the M777A2 since 2009.
The new weapon weighs less than half that of a traditional howitzer and can fire precision-guided rounds that can be programmed to land within 30 feet of a target more than 25 miles away, the Observer reported.
