Northrop Grumman Corporation has successfully completed multiple rounds of tests on the Solid Fuel Ramjet (SFRJ) tactical engine configuration, a technology to enable long range precision fires, to support the U.S. Army’s critical missions, the company reported on Monday.
“Successful completion of the rigorous tests of the Solid Fuel Ramjet demonstrates maturation of the technology to survive the very challenging gun-launch environment and significantly extend the range of the U.S. military’s current field artillery with a high level of confidence,” said Pat Nolan, vice president of Missile Products for Northrop Grumman.
Northrop Grumman conducted the tests under phase one of the U.S. Army’s XM1155 Extended-Range Artillery Projectile (ERAP) program.
The program will provide an extended range, guided 155mm artillery round capable of defeating moving and stationary targets in all terrain and weather conditions. The munition system is being designed to provide multi-domain battlespace dominance against high level targets.
Northrop Grumman’s SFRJ tests validated gun-launched survivability and performance predictions. Additionally, the tests demonstrated the potential of extending projectile range to more than 100 kilometers, which is a significant increase compared to current fielded artillery projectiles.
Work under the contract will be completed at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, West Virginia, Ronkonkoma, New York; Plymouth, Minnesota; and in partnership with SPARC Research based out of Warrenton, Virginia.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services.
