There's a reason the Field Artillery is called "The King of Battle." Since the Great War, artillery has been the number one casualty-inflictor in warfare. A single honest old 155mm projectile landing anywhere nearby has the potential to ruin one's whole day, and if it's really close, one might discover one's self starting a new career as a fine pink mist.
Now the US Army Field Artillery, the "cannon cockers" (no, that's not what the term means; "cocker" is an old term from when artillery pieces had locks, like a musket, and required "cocking" before firing) are going to be getting some new high-tech toys.
The United States military has selected London-headquartered aerospace and defense security company BAE Systems to develop the prototype of a new 155 mm anti-aircraft artillery system equipped with hypersonic projectiles.
The system, named the Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon (MDAC) and Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP) prototype, was announced through a public notice on December 20, 2024. The Pentagon sole-sourced the contract to BAE, bypassing a competitive process among private vendors.
The new system appears to have some pretty impressive capabilities:
The MDAC is a highly mobile, airborne, self-propelled 155 mm artillery system, as outlined in the published requirements. The system is expected to feature a high degree of automation, a large ammunition capacity, and a rapid rate of fire.
The MDACS battery will consist of eight MDAC artillery units, four MFPR multi-function radars, two MDBM battle management systems, and a minimum of 144 HVP hypersonic projectiles.
The primary role of the MDACS is to defend stationary and semi-stationary positions from attacks by drones, cruise missiles, aircraft, and helicopters. It is also designed to integrate with existing air and missile defense systems. While particulars of the funding remain undisclosed, the Army plans to allocate $67 million for initial work in 2025, with additional investments in the following years.
The anti-drone capability is particularly relevant. Warfare today, especially asymmetric warfare against unorganized but creative opponents, is more and more about drones. Drones are cheap, they can be bought anywhere, and they are not only great reconnaissance tools but can carry explosive payloads as well.
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President-elect Donald Trump ran on rebuilding our military. One of his first moves in seeing this done is to nominate for Secretary of Defense an Army veteran, Pete Hegseth, who has been there and seen the elephant. While the poison of DEI needs to be rooted out, tree and branch, the other task that must be done is to re-train and re-arm our service members. This new artillery capability looks like a step in that direction; one might even call it a good start, with the awareness that much, much more is needed.
One of the more fun things I got to do in my time in Uncle Sam's colors was to call in 155mm and 8-inch gunfire during a 5-day field exercise at Ft. Lewis, Washington. It always struck me as one of the world's nastiest practical jokes; sitting in a hole on a hillside, talking into a radio, and directing the rain of death and destruction from afar. We were just targeting junk vehicles and some plywood mockups, but if it had been real, it would have been really bad luck to have been anywhere near those targets.
And now, the cannon-cockers have some new toys that will make them even more effective. That's how it's supposed to work.
Target! Fire for effect!
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