Army to test hypervelocity projectile for 155mm cannon artillery

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Army is slated to begin evaluating a hypervelocity projectile for the service’s artillery systems in 2025, according to Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office director.

The service is pursuing such a capability as a potential munition for eliminating cheaper targets, rather than using high-end missiles for the same mission, Rasch told Defense News at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium.

Hypervelocity projectiles are “an order of magnitude cheaper than its equivalent missile,” Rasch said, “but can go really fast to close on the target.”

The Army plans to prototype the hypervelocity capability through the Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Rasch said, and will spend roughly three years studying the physics of shooting the projectile from a 155mm cannon.

“We have to learn through testing,” he said. “There [are] different physical pressures that are put on that cannon — the amount of force required to project something at that speed.”

As part of the evaluation the Army will also look at autoloader capabilities. It will also aim to ensure the projectile will reliably work while tied into the Integrated Battle Command System, the command-and-control system that connects any sensor and shooter on the battlefield.

“It’s got to fight as part of Army formations,” Rasch stressed.

The project to develop a hypervelocity projectile for cannons will transition from the Strategic Capabilities Office to the Army next year, Rasch said.

“We’re joined at the hip with [SCO] right now,” he said. “My team worked very closely with them to understand where they are in the development process of that capability.”

Rasch is aiming to get the capability ready for operational testing in fiscal 2028.

“It’s an impressive capability,” he said. “I’m looking forward to trying to turn it into an Army platform.”