Jane Edwards
The U.S. Army is set to hold a mobile 155mm howitzer shoot-off at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in early 2021 and companies are announcing their selection to participate in the event while others are expressing interest to take part in the activity, Defense News reported Thursday.
BAE Systems, Elbit Systems of America and Serbia-based Yugoimport announced that they had been selected to bring their platforms to the shoot-off.
BAE is expected to demonstrate its Archer howitzer, while Elbit said it will bring its Autonomous Truck Mounted Ordnance System Iron Sabre to the shoot-off. The Army selected Yugoimport’s NORA B-52 155mm wheeled howitzer for the evaluation.
Companies showing interest in the shoot-off are AM General and French defense firm Nexter, while Mitsubishi and South Korea-based defense company Hanwha could present their offerings during the event.
The Army disclosed in a July announcement its plan for the shoot-off that could last for three months. Participants must bring 18 evaluation systems to the event, according to a solicitation.
The service is on the lookout for a production-ready platform that offers better mobility, rate-of-fire and range capabilities than artillery systems currently used within Stryker brigade combat teams and wants the chosen contractor to start delivering systems by the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.
