Episode
How the Pentagon Is Solving Its Guided Artillery Shell Accuracy Crisis
- Published
- Jun 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 669
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Summary
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the Pentagon's most urgent and underreported problems: the accuracy crisis in guided artillery shells. With a live data backdrop showing defense primes like LMT at $530, NOC at $548, and GD at $345, they explore why the U.S. Army's Extended Range Cannon Artillery program—a $4.5 billion effort to fire precision rounds 70 kilometers—is hitting a guidance-and-control bottleneck. Lucas breaks down the physics challenge: a 155mm shell traveling at Mach 3 must adjust its fins using tiny actuators that can survive 15,000 Gs of acceleration. The episode centers on a specific solution—rolling airframe control—pioneered by a small contractor called BAE Systems' Bofors division, and why the Army is now fast-tracking a second source competition for the guidance electronics. Luna questions whether the Pentagon's own testing infrastructure can validate these rounds fast enough, given that the service is spending $1.2 billion just on upgraded test ranges. A focused look at how one shell's electronics survival problem is forcing a rethink of manufacturing processes, supply chains, and acquisition speed. #GuidedArtillery #PrecisionMunitions #Pentagon #USArmy #ERCA #155mm #RollingAirframe #BAESystems #LMT #NOC #GD #DefenseTech #GuidanceSystems #SupplyChain #TestRanges #Business #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo