The U.S. Army Is Moving Forward Smartly On Advanced Long-Range Artillery (From RealClearDefense)

It is generally recognized that the key to the U.S. Army’s efforts to prepare itself for a new era of great power conflict is a new set of long-range fire systems. General John Murray, the head of Army Futures Command, testified before Congress that “our first modernization priority is to restore the Army’s Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) capabilities in order to regain our dominance in range, lethality, and target acquisition.” To that end, the Army has a plan to upgrade or modernize its array of artillery, rockets and missile systems. Initially, it will improve the performance of existing systems. Just this month, the improved M109A7 Paladin entered full rate production. But within the next decade, the Army expects to deploy artillery, rockets and missiles that can reach out hundreds, maybe thousands, of miles and accurately strike their targets. I have written about the Army’s successes in developing long-range fires here.