Illustrative title card. ISC open-source assessment, 11 June 2026. A sourced image will accompany the published edition.

US Army Funds Three Paths to a Longer-Range 155mm: Vulcano GLR, LRMP and Scorpio-XR Win ERAP Contracts

Technical Summary

The United States Army has placed three parallel development contracts under its Extended Range Artillery Projectile (ERAP) programme, with a combined disclosed value of USD 144.1 million. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) received USD 37.86 million for a precision projectile derived from the Vulcano 155 Guided Long Range (GLR) family. General Atomics received USD 24.84 million for its Long-Range Maneuvering Projectile (LRMP). BAE Systems Land & Armaments received the largest single award, USD 81.43 million, for demonstration and qualification of its Scorpio-XR offering. The awards were placed through the Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC) mechanism. ERAP requires compatibility with existing 39-calibre and 52-calibre 155mm gun systems, low-rate initial production of at least 300 projectiles by the second quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2029, and initial operational capability by FY2030.

The three candidate natures take different technical routes to range. Vulcano GLR is a sub-calibre, fin-stabilised projectile fired with a discarding sabot, guided by satellite navigation with a semi-active laser (SAL) terminal seeker, and credited with reaching targets at up to 70 km from 52-calibre ordnance. It is fielded with the German and Italian armed forces, and a far-infrared seeker variant exists for moving maritime targets. LRMP is a winged, guided full-bore design intended to glide to ranges exceeding 120 km, roughly three times the reach of the M982 Excalibur. Scorpio-XR is a low-drag precision projectile designed to defeat fixed and moving targets beyond 70 km. All three are marketed as capable of operating in degraded or denied satellite-navigation environments.

Transitioning established production lines from Germany and Italy to the United States enables low-risk scaling to quickly deliver long range precision fires capability. Michael Bate, Senior Vice President and General Manager, GD-OTS, 8 June 2026

Analysis of Effects

Each route to range carries a terminal-effects cost that the headline figures conceal. Vulcano achieves its velocity through a sub-calibre flight body, which leaves substantially less volume for explosive fill than the roughly 10.8 kg of TNT carried by a conventional M795 high-explosive projectile; the net explosive quantity (NEQ) of the GLR warhead in the ERAP submission has not been disclosed. The design compensates with precision, with SAL terminal homing quoted at metre-class accuracy against designated targets. LRMP trades the same payload volume for wing and control surfaces. None of the three contractors has disclosed warhead mass, fill composition or fuzing configuration for the ERAP submissions; all three are recorded here as data gaps rather than estimated.

Plausibility assessment: the 70 km figure for Vulcano from 52-calibre ordnance is consistent with firings reported by Leonardo and Diehl Defence over the past decade and is rated plausible. The greater than 120 km claim for LRMP is a developer statement that has not been demonstrated at full range in open reporting; General Atomics conducted guided flight testing in October 2025, but maximum-range proof remains outstanding. ISC therefore treats the LRMP range as a claim, not a parameter. Extended-range firings also depend on top-charge propelling loads, which accelerate barrel wear and raise chamber pressure management questions for the 39-calibre fleet that ERAP is also required to serve.

Personnel and Safety Considerations

For trials and range safety staff, extended-range natures enlarge weapon danger areas and demand revised range templates before live firing in the United States or Canada. SAL terminal guidance requires designator procedures and laser safety arcs at the observer end. None of the public material states the insensitive munitions (IM) signature of the candidate projectiles against STANAG 4439 / AOP-39 criteria, nor a hazard division (HD) and compatibility group (CG) assignment for storage and transport. Transfer of Vulcano production from German and Italian lines to a United States facility will additionally require requalification of energetic components under US acceptance standards, a step that historically adds schedule risk to onshoring programmes.

Data Gaps

Open sources do not yet disclose: explosive fill type and NEQ for any of the three natures; fuze designation and functioning modes; HD and CG assignments; IM test results; demonstrated (as opposed to claimed) maximum ranges; per-round cost targets; the split between United States and Canadian industrial participation; and the down-select criteria the Army will apply before low-rate initial production. Confidence in the contract values and schedule is high, as these derive from contractor and consortium announcements. Confidence in performance parameters is moderate to low pending demonstration firings.

Corrections & updates welcome. If you hold open-source data that refines or corrects any parameter in this article, please contact [email protected] citing the specific claim and your source. Verified corrections will be incorporated and credited in the revision history. AI-assisted technical assessment based on open-source material. Not a formal intelligence product.