Northrop Grumman has been awarded a development contract for the company’s newly designed 57mm guided high-explosive ammunition for naval vessels.
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The 57mm guided high-explosive ammunition, fired from Mk110 naval guns, can reportedly continuously manoeuvre in-flight as it moves toward a designated target such as a fast-moving surface threat, drone or swarming threat.
The ammunition features an on-board seeker to acquire moving targets and a fuse with the ability to self-select for either proximity or point-detonation mode for best engagement.
“Our new 57mm guided ammunition is truly innovative in its ability to identify, track, and guide itself to a target,” according to Dave Fine, Northrop Grumman armament systems vice-president.
“The Navy will gain a greater capability to defend against moving threats and a new level of accuracy to defeat them.”
Using seekers and an aft-manoeuvre system, the round provides continuous trajectory guidance no matter how often the target may pivot, he said.
The new guided ammunition will reportedly give the US Navy greater stand-off range and a cost-effective solution against small, fast-moving threats, without any weapon system modifications.