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Light howitzer debuts with Schofield unit

The Army has started fielding its newest artillery weapon — the M777A1 Lightweight 155mm howitzer — to Stryker units in Hawaii, according to a recent Army press release.

The M777A1 is the first ground combat system that makes extensive use of titanium, which makes it 7,000 pounds lighter than the M198 weapon it replaces.

“The weight reduction improves transportability and mobility without impacting range or accuracy,” said Jim Shields, program manager for the Army and Marine Corps program, according to the release.

The Army has approved “full materiel release status” of the new field artillery weapon, the release states. The M777A1 will be the artillery system for the Army’s Stryker brigade combat teams.

Both the Army and Marines are presently taking delivery of M777A1s under a multiyear contract with BAE Systems awarded in March 2005.

It is “being fielded to [the 2nd Battalion, 11th] Field Artillery at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, a component of the Army’s fifth Stryker brigade combat team,” Shields said in the release. “Before receiving the M777, the 2-11 was a 105mm battalion that used the older M119A2 howitzer.”

The M777A1 includes a new advanced digital fire control system called Towed Artillery Digitization.

The M777A1 will receive a software upgrade later this spring that will enable the system to program and fire the Army’s first guided projectile, the XM982 Excalibur round, when it is issued to units in Iraq later this year, Shields said.

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