The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the Netherlands of one hundred ninety-nine (199) Excalibur Increment IB M982Al tactical projectiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $40.55 million. The Government of the Netherlands has requested to buy one hundred ninety-nine (199) Excalibur Increment IB M982Al tactical projectiles. Also included with this request is U.S. Government technical assistance, training, associated support equipment, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $40.55 million, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced Friday.
This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve security of a NATO ally which is an important force for political stability and economic progress in Northern Europe. The proposed sale of this weapon system will not alter the basic military balance in the region.There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to the Netherlands. The prime contractor will be the Raytheon Company, Tucson, AZ.
The M982 Excalibur (previously XM982) is a 155 mm extended range guided artillery shell developed during a collaborative effort between the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC). The Excalibur was manufactured by prime contractor Raytheon Missile Systems and BAE Systems AB. It is a GPS and inertial-guided munition capable of being used in close support situations within 75–150 metres (246–492 ft) of friendly troops or in situations where targets might be prohibitively close to civilians to attack with conventional unguided artillery fire.
The Netherlands will integrate these munitions with conventional artillery units equipped with the Royal Netherlands Army PzH 2000NL self-propelled howitzer (SPH) to provide precision fires capability in order to reduce collateral damage and increase effectiveness in various areas of operation. In The Netherlands, the PzH 2000NL is to replace the older systems M 114 and M 109, which no longer meet today’s battlefield requirements for artillery systems. The Panzerhaubitze 2000 (“armoured howitzer 2000”), abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall for the German Army.
