Pentagon scrambles to find contractors to build new self-propelled guns in Europe after US ERCA project fails
After the cancellation of the Extended Range Artillery (ERCA) program, the US continues to search for opportunities to create a 155mm self-propelled gun. The US military department plans to announce a competition for the production of a new gun.
The decision was made after US delegations visited weapons manufacturing plants BAE Systems, Elbit Systems, Hanwha, General Dynamics and Rheinmetall to assess the capabilities of the future program.
The first phase, which will produce specific proposals for the new SPG, will begin in February. A number of companies will then receive contracts to produce the guns, which are expected to be concluded between June and September 2025. Additional competitive evaluation tests will be held in the next financial year.
During the second stage, which will begin in the 2027 fiscal year, another selection of previously proposed projects will be conducted. The introduction of the new weapon into service is scheduled for 2030. It is possible that the Pentagon will select several versions of the self-propelled gun.
Meanwhile, the ERCA 155mm long-range self-propelled howitzer program was cancelled in March 2024 as the prototype was not successful enough to proceed to production.
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