The Army has awarded Raytheon and Missiles Defense [RTX] an $84 million deal to produce Excalibur 1B precision-guided munitions to help replenish stockpiles of the weapon sent to Ukraine.
The deal, officially awarded on Nov. 29, covers production of more than 1,000 M982 extended-range guided artillery shells.
“The Army is focused on acquisition at speed in a responsible manner,” Doug Bush, the Army’s top acquisition official, said in a statement. “That applies to the Army’s support to Ukraine as well as routine program activity – a winning strategy for our soldiers, America and our allies.”
As of Dec. 9, the U.S. has committed to providing Ukraine with 4,200 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds to assist in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“With the current usage and capabilities in theater, this action continues production of this capability,” the Army wrote in a statement. “Excalibur 1B’s GPS coordinate-seeking capability enables the quick defeat of targets with high precision.”
The Pentagon has previously detailed more than $1 billion in contracts it has awarded since April to begin replenishing stockpiles of weapons sent to Ukraine, with the department having identified $7 billion in total replacement actions (Defense Daily, Sept. 9).
Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s top acquisition official, has reiterated his goal remains to replenish inventories of equipment sent to Ukraine on a ‘one-to-one’ basis, either with current systems or next-generation updates (Defense Daily, Sept. 7).
Work on the M982 Excalibur order is expected to be completed by the end of April 2024, according to the Pentagon’s contracts announcements from Nov. 29.
The $858 billion final version of the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act that lawmakers rolled out this week includes a provision that would allow the Pentagon to use multi-year contracts for certain munitions procurements, to include buying up to 12,050 155mm Excalibur M982A1 rounds (Defense Daily, Dec. 7).