Profile
- Type
- 155 mm illumination projectile
- Conflict side
- Israel
- Origin
- United States
- Service note
- Cold War-era design still fielded
Artillery
M485-series 155 mm illumination projectile
The M485-series 155 mm illumination projectile is a U.S.-origin artillery round that drops a parachute flare to light the battlefield; in the Israel-Hamas War, investigators linked an Israeli M485 A2 shell to the Al-Shifa Hospital shelling in Gaza.
- Conflict side
- Israel
- Built by
- Pine Bluff Arsenal
- Built in
- United States
Service History
- In service
- Fielded with 155 mm howitzers for night battlefield illumination and target marking.
- Used by
- Israel Defense Forces, United States Armed Forces
- Wars
- Israel-Hamas War
Production History
- Designer
- U.S. Army Combat Ammunition Systems
- Designed
- March 1985
- Built by
- Pine Bluff Arsenal
- Built in
- United States
- Unit cost
- Not publicly standardized
- Produced
- 1985-present
- Number built
- Not publicly disclosed
- Variants
- M485, M485A1, M485A2
Specifications
- Caliber
- 155 mm
- Weight
- 90 lb (about 41 kg)
- Maximum range
- 17.5 km
- Illumination
- 1,000,000 candlepower
- Burn time
- 100 seconds minimum
- Fuze
- Standard mechanical or electric time fuze
Conflict Usage
- Israel-Hamas War
- Side: IsraelRole: Battlefield illumination and marking
Le Monde's Israel-Hamas War investigation says Israeli forces fired an M485 A2 illuminating shell near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, and the fragment matched the Israeli shell pattern.
M485-series 155 mm illumination projectile Images
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JPEO Ammunition Portfolio BookPublisher: U.S. Army Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition | Note: Supports M485-series specifications, illumination function, and Pine Bluff Arsenal / Crane Army Ammunition Activity production background. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Le Monde Al-Shifa shelling investigationPublisher: Le Monde | Note: Supports Israel-Hamas War direct use: Israeli forces fired an M485 A2 illuminating shell near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Wikimedia Commons M485flare.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and CC BY-SA 3.0 licensing for the M485flare.jpg photograph. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Wikimedia Commons M107 M485A2.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain status for the M107 M485A2 photograph showing an M485A2 illumination projectile. | Accessed: 2026-06-20