Direct proof of use
M982 Excalibur is directly documented in the 2001 War in Afghanistan through U.S. military imagery and industry reporting tied to Marine Corps combat use. A DVIDS image from Fire Base Fiddlers Green in Helmand Province, dated October 13, 2011, identifies Marines from Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment firing an M982 Excalibur round from an M777 howitzer during a fire-support mission.
Raytheon reported on June 11, 2012 that the U.S. Marine Corps fired two Excalibur 155 mm precision-guided artillery projectiles in theater at a range of 36 km. Defense Media Network later tied that Afghanistan fire mission to a Marine Corps M777 at Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge firing an M982 Excalibur round against insurgents in the Kajaki and Musa Qala district area.
Sources: M982 Excalibur fired from M777 in Helmand, US Marines fire Excalibur from record range in Afghanistan, Project Manager Towed Artillery Systems Gains an Expanded Portfolio
Timeline
The open record shows Excalibur already in Marine artillery use in Helmand by 2011, followed by a reported 2012 long-range combat firing in Afghanistan. Raytheon's 2012 release framed those 36 km shots as the longest-distance combat firings of Excalibur since the projectile was fielded in 2007 and said Marine operational use of the round had increased during the previous year.
A later 2018 DVIDS Afghanistan image does not document a firing, but it places Excalibur MX 982A1 rounds in the ammunition discussion for a U.S. Army M777A2 unit in Laghman Province. The caption says a 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment section chief explained conventional and precision-guided ammunition capabilities, including Excalibur MX 982A1 rounds, to the Army vice chief of staff.
Sources: M982 Excalibur fired from M777 in Helmand, US Marines fire Excalibur from record range in Afghanistan, Excalibur MX 982A1 rounds discussed in Afghanistan
Narrative
In Afghanistan, Excalibur's documented role was precision 155 mm artillery fire from U.S. M777-family howitzers. The 2011 Helmand image shows the munition used by U.S. Marines for fire support from a fixed Marine fire base, while the 2012 record-range firing reporting connects the round to longer-range engagement of insurgents in a neighboring district.
The available sources identify U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army artillery personnel as the documented users. They do not show Taliban or Afghan-government operation of M982 Excalibur, and the 2018 Laghman source is best read as evidence of fielded precision-ammunition capability rather than proof of a separate firing event.
The weapon's Afghanistan record also links the projectile to the broader M777 fire-support network. Defense Media Network described the M777's digital fire-control capability as enabling embedded Excalibur use, and Raytheon described Excalibur as a GPS-guided 155 mm precision projectile used by U.S. Army and Marine Corps artillery.
Sources: M982 Excalibur fired from M777 in Helmand, Project Manager Towed Artillery Systems Gains an Expanded Portfolio, US Marines fire Excalibur from record range in Afghanistan, Raytheon Excalibur Projectile
