PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J., Aug. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army's Excalibur Program Office has determined that Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Excalibur Ib precision guided artillery round is fully compatible with the M198 howitzer when used with the Modular Artillery Charge System. 

The compatibility allows allied military forces to use the world's only 155 mm precision munition when firing the M198 howitzer. Excalibur extends the M198's reach to 31 miles (50 kilometers) and provides an all-weather strike within 6 1/2 feet (2 meters) of the target.

"Many of our international partners have an urgent need to address vital security interests, and Excalibur lb meets that need," said Mark Hokeness, Raytheon's Excalibur program director. "This eliminates the time and cost of further compatibility testing in the M198 howitzer."

About Excalibur
Excalibur is a precision-guided, extended-range projectile that uses GPS guidance to provide accurate, first-round effects capability in any environment. Excalibur's high level of precision delivers a major reduction in the time, cost and logistical burden associated with other artillery munitions. Excalibur has been fielded by the U.S. Army, Marines and several international military forces. 

• Combat proven: Nearly 770 Excalibur rounds have been fired in combat with exceptional accuracy and lethality.

• Precise: Excalibur consistently strikes less than two meters from a precisely-located target.

• Safe: Excalibur's precision avoids collateral damage and has been employed within 75 meters of supported troops.

• Affordable: With its first-round effects, Excalibur reduces total mission cost and time and the user's logistics burden.

• Growing: Raytheon has demonstrated a dual-mode GPS/semi-active laser seeker Excalibur variant to compensate for target location error, maintain precision in GPS denied or degraded environments and enable engagement of relocated or moving targets.

• Entering New Markets: With Excalibur N5, navies will be able to deliver extended range, precision naval surface fires from existing 5 inch/127 mm guns.

About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2014 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 93 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as cybersecurity and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.

Media Contact
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SOURCE Raytheon Company