The Marine Corps has urgently ordered more than 1,000 precision-guided artillery shells made by Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems, for use in Afghanistan.
The Marine Corps issued an "urgent operational need" order for 1,037 of Raytheon's 155-millimeter Excalibur extended range artillery projectiles, the company said.
The purchase of the Excalibur Ia-2, the latest operational version, is worth a total of $81 million, a Raytheon spokeswoman said.
Though the company doesn't release per-unit costs, the total cost of the new buy equals about $78,000 each, in line with industry estimates.
The Marines have significantly increased operational use of Excalibur in the last year, firing as many as 32 rounds in one week, Raytheon said. The Army also uses Excalibur, which was first fielded in 2007.
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By deploying Excalibur with regiment combat teams, the Marines can fire on enemy positions from miles away without waiting for close air support.
"The Marines are using Excalibur as a critical, life-saving capability in Afghanistan," Lt. Col. Mike Milner, U.S. Army Excalibur product manager, said in a news release by Raytheon.
"They have developed tactics to enable its use on demand and as a result, they have been able to conduct essential missions that would otherwise go unengaged."
Using GPS satellite precision guidance, the Excalibur Ia-2 can hit within about 20 feet of targets up to 15 miles away.
"Excalibur can precisely engage a target before close air support is available, and that availability has made the projectile crucial to the success of distributed operations in Afghanistan," said Michelle Lohmeier, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' land combat product line.
In April, Raytheon was awarded a $172.6 million contract to start full-rate production of the Excalibur Ia-2 for the Army.
Last year, Raytheon won a competitive Army bid to develop the next generation of the guided shell, the Excalibur Ib, which is designed to boost the weapon's reliability and cut its unit cost by about half.
In June, Raytheon received a $36 million Army contract to finish testing the next-generation munition and qualify it for fielding.
Contact Assistant Business Editor David Wichner at dwichner@azstarnet.com or 573-4181.