M982 Excalibur is a co-developed U.S.-Swedish 155 mm precision artillery projectile that gives compatible howitzers first-round guided effects at extended range. Documented use runs from its 2007 Iraq War combat debut through U.S. fire missions in Afghanistan and Operation Inherent Resolve, plus U.S.-supplied and battlefield-reported Ukrainian use in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
Ukrainian forces used M982 Excalibur GPS-guided 155 mm projectiles with Western-supplied artillery for precision fires during the full-scale war; public reporting also tied Excalibur to NATO-standard howitzers such as Krab and Bohdana.
Role detailsU.S. Army soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division fired an XM982 Excalibur from an M109A6 Paladin at Camp Taji, Iraq, on May 5, 2007, in what DVIDS described as the projectile's first operational firing.
Role detailsU.S. Marines with Task Force Spartan prepared Excalibur 155 mm rounds at Fire Base Bell, Iraq, while conducting March 2016 fire missions against an ISIL infiltration route during 2014 Operation Inherent Resolve.
U.S. forces fired M982 Excalibur rounds from M777 howitzers during the Afghanistan war; a post-2015 DVIDS Afghanistan image documents Excalibur MX 982A1 rounds as a precision-guided M777A2 ammunition capability in Laghman Province in 2018.
Role detailsExcalibur's core 155 mm projectile combines GPS and inertial guidance with a programmable fuze, while newer family branches adapt the same precision-fire role for alternate target sets and launch environments.
| Branch | Role | Distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Excalibur 1B | Land-service 155 mm round | Full-rate-production Ib projectile with terminal-angle software described by Raytheon. |
| Excalibur S | Laser-assisted precision fires | Digital semi-active laser seeker for moving or imprecisely located targets. |
| Excalibur N5 | 5-inch naval gun projectile | Naval 127 mm branch reusing much of the Ib guidance, navigation, and software baseline. |
| Excalibur HTK | Armor-penetrating seeker variant | Hit-to-kill branch using an all-weather seeker and StormBreaker-derived design elements. |
Raytheon presents Excalibur as a modular projectile family rather than a single fixed round, with land-service, laser-guided, naval, hit-to-kill, and extended-range branches.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Excalibur S | Semi-active laser-guided variant | Raytheon identifies Excalibur S as a laser-guided version with a digital semi-active laser seeker intended for moving or imprecisely located targets and reduced dependence on GPS-only targeting. Sources: Raytheon Excalibur Projectile |
| Excalibur N5 | 5-inch/127 mm naval variant | Raytheon describes Excalibur N5 as a naval 5-inch variant that reuses much of the Excalibur Ib guidance, navigation, and software baseline while extending naval gun range and precision. Sources: Raytheon Excalibur Projectile, U.S. Army awards Raytheon continued Excalibur production contract |
| Excalibur HTK | Armor-penetrating hit-to-kill branch | Raytheon describes Excalibur HTK as an armor-penetrating variant that uses an all-weather seeker and StormBreaker-derived design elements for moving or imprecisely located targets. Sources: Raytheon Excalibur Projectile |
| Extended Range Artillery Projectile (ERAP) | Extended-range Excalibur branch | Raytheon lists ERAP as an Excalibur variant intended to fly longer ranges and strike moving targets on land and sea. Sources: Raytheon Excalibur Projectile |
These artillery systems are documented as compatible launch platforms for Excalibur rounds.
| Firing weapon | Weapon type | Firing evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer | DVIDS documents the first operational XM982 Excalibur firing from an M109A6 Paladin at Camp Taji, Iraq, in May 2007. Sources: 1st Cavalry Division first operational Excalibur firing |
 | 155 mm towed howitzer | DVIDS documents U.S. Marines firing an M982 Excalibur round from an M777 howitzer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and later preparing Excalibur 155 mm rounds at Fire Base Bell in Iraq. Sources: M982 Excalibur fired from M777 in Helmand, Task Force Spartan prepares Excalibur at Fire Base Bell |
 | 155 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer | BAE Systems identifies ARCHER as one of the artillery systems that can fire Excalibur precision guided munitions, and the ARCHER product page names Excalibur among the munitions it can fire. |
 | 155 mm self-propelled howitzer | Army Recognition names the Polish Krab among the modern self-propelled howitzers that can fire M982 Excalibur. Sources: Ukraine gains unmatched battlefield precision with M982 Excalibur GPS guided munition |
 | 155 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer | Army Recognition names M982 Excalibur GPS-guided projectiles among the NATO-standard rounds compatible with Bohdana. Sources: Army Recognition Bohdana M107 and Excalibur compatibility |
 | 155 mm truck-mounted howitzer | RTX lists CAESAR among the mobile 155 mm artillery systems compatible with Excalibur projectiles. Sources: Raytheon Excalibur Projectile |
 | 155 mm self-propelled howitzer | RTX lists PzH 2000 among the mobile 155 mm artillery systems compatible with Excalibur projectiles. Sources: Raytheon Excalibur Projectile |
 | 155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer | RTX identifies Excalibur as compatible with mobile 155 mm artillery systems, and the AS-90 source lists Excalibur among the gun's compatible ammunition types. Sources: Raytheon Excalibur Projectile, AS90 |
DVIDS reported that 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division soldiers fired an XM982 Excalibur from an M109A6 Paladin at Camp Taji during combat operations north of Baghdad.
Sources: 1st Cavalry Division first operational Excalibur firing
A DVIDS Afghanistan image documents U.S. Marines firing an M982 Excalibur round from an M777 howitzer during a fire support mission in Helmand Province.
Sources: M982 Excalibur fired from M777 in Helmand
Raytheon's 2016 production notice states that Excalibur Ib had been in full-rate production since mid-2014.
Sources: U.S. Army awards Raytheon continued Excalibur production contract
DVIDS documented U.S. Marines preparing an Excalibur 155 mm round at Fire Base Bell, Iraq, during Operation Inherent Resolve fire missions against an ISIL infiltration route.
Sources: Task Force Spartan prepares Excalibur at Fire Base Bell
The U.S. Defense Department announced 500 M982 Excalibur precision-guided rounds in a $625 million security-assistance package for Ukraine.
Sources: Defense Department Ukraine Excalibur security assistance package
