ORBITAL COMPLETES FIRST PRODUCTION LOT ACCEPTANCE TESTING OF PRECISION GUIDANCE KIT

Orbital ATK has successfully completed the first production lot acceptance testing of its 155mm Artillery Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) at an undisclosed location. During testing, the kit demonstrated a median accuracy of less than 10 m, in addition to passing all safety and reliability requirements. Orbital ATK Defense Systems Group armament systems division Vice President and General Manager Dan Olson said: “Extensive, rigorous testing continues to prove the maturity of PGK technology in terms of reliability, performance and safety.” Orbital ATK Defense Systems Group President Mike Kahn said: “Our precision guidance expertise is making a difference across multiple platforms for our customers. PGK is a guidance fuse designed to fit within the fuse well of 155mm high-explosive artillery projectiles and can transform existing, conventional artillery projectiles into precision weapons that can significantly reduce dispersion to 30 m or less, enabling accurate targeting.”

The company will conduct two additional lot acceptance tests, which will confirm production consistency while populating a reliability database that provides information which leads to product improvements over the course of production. PGK is a guidance fuse designed to fit within the fuse well of 155mm high-explosive artillery projectiles and can transform existing, conventional artillery projectiles into precision weapons that can significantly reduce dispersion to 30m or less, enabling accurate targeting. Compatible with existing 155mm artillery stockpiles, the kit features a fixed-canard guidance and control approach with gun-hardened electronics and a self-generated power supply, and also incorporates a ‘fail safe’ option, which prevents PGK-equipped artillery from detonating if it fails to get close enough to the target. The kit successfully proved its capability to deliver precise fire when it was used by the US Army and Marine Corps artillery units for training and tactical operations in Afghanistan in March 2013.