Northrop Grumman Corporation announced today that it has surpassed the production and delivery of more than 100,000 Precision Guidance Kits (PGK) for 155mm artillery projectiles. A U.S. Army program, PGK replaces standard fuzing for conventional projectiles currently in inventory, transforming them into GPS-guided, precision weapons. Recently, the company incorporated user feedback to add a built-in, selectable, safety feature that prevents detonation if the PGK predicts the projectile will exceed the selected miss distance while in flight. The company is also nearing completion of the necessary qualification events to implement GPS M-Code, which will allow PGK to defend against existing and emerging threats to GPS, such as jamming.
“PGK’s precision provides a critical capability to artillery units, enabling forces to rapidly achieve mission success by reducing the number of rounds required to defeat targets. Throughout our 100,000 deliveries, we’ve maintained superior performance, surpassing the Army’s objectives for both accuracy and reliability,” said Dave Fine, vice president for armament systems, Northrop Grumman.
Once implemented, PGK will be one of the largest production programs within the U.S. Department of Defense to integrate this crucial capability that allows authorized users to acquire two signals from GPS satellites to achieve superior positioning accuracy.
Northrop Grumman continues to advance PGK technology to meet the Army’s future needs. These investments include creating PGK compatibility for the Army’s latest developments in extended range cannon artillery systems and projectiles as well as the ability to operate in GPS-degraded conditions. GPS-guided precision weapons on the battlefield can ensure near perfect accuracy while reducing the risk of collateral damage. Northrop Grumman pioneered a new designs and technology that ensures continued operations in a GPS-degraded environment. For nearly a decade, the U.S. Army has successfully used the Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) to upgrade conventional 155mm artillery to a level of accuracy that approaches near precision.
Northrop Grumman recently expanded its PGK production capacity in Plymouth, Minnesota to increase its daily, single shift production rate by 15 percent to meet current and future demand. Recently, the company signed a $137 million modification to its base contract for PGK production with the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps to produce additional precision guidance kits. The innovative PGK combines guidance capability and fuze functions in one device providing conventional projectiles the ability to consistently outperform the U.S. Army’s program objective for accuracy. Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world’s largest weapons manufacturers and military technology providers.
