Israel upgrades Artillery Corps with GPS-guided shells

Israel upgrades Artillery Corps with GPS-guided shells 

GeoStrategy direct w/e 16-Apr-14

Israel has accumulated an arsenal of precision-guided artillery shells. 

The Israeli military has converted its artillery shells with GPS and other systems meant to strike targets at a distance of 40 kilometers. The military said the effort marked a key lesson from the war against the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah in 2006. 

"Our Artillery Corps was ineffective during the Second Lebanon War," a senior officer said. "This time, things will be much different." 

The officer said the Ground Forces Command has overseen the enhancement of the Artillery Corps over the last six years. They said a key project was to convert unguided shells into precision-guided projectiles that could strike fixed targets. 

Under the project, the Army has worked with Israeli and U.S. contractors to significantly reduce the use of unguided shells. The officer said 40 percent of the thousands of shells in the corps have been converted and could now strike targets up to 40 kilometers away. The shells, mostly purchased from the United States, contained an original range of less than 20 kilometers. 

"This would allow us to strike Hizbullah and other enemy targets deep inside Lebanon," the officer said. 

The military plans to use the corps as a leading element in destroying Hizbullah's massive missile and rocket arsenal in any future war. Hizbullah was said to have built an arsenal of more than 100,000 projectiles, many of them with a range of more than 200 kilometers. 

The officer said the upgrade of the artillery shells, now equipped with fins, marked a decision by the General Command to limit the use of the Israel Air Force in response to Hizbullah or other enemy missile strikes. He said the air force wanted to reserve most of its assets to conduct strategic strikes that would destroy command and control, critical facilities and suspected weapons of mass destruction. 

The corps has been plagued with artillery systems from the early 1970s. Until recently, the bulk of the corps was based on the U.S.-origin M-109 155mm gun. 

The officer said the army was also introducing systems to link the corps with Air Force units. He cited the use of common digital maps that would determine battle damage assessments as well as interoperability with infantry forces and attack helicopters. 

"The priority is to prepare for a multi-front war directed by Iran," the officer said.