PERM (Precision Extended Range Munition) 120mm Guided Bomb

[A Tentative Fleet Plan]

The US Marine Corps is now looking into the PERM, for a longer range 120 millimetre round for its Expeditionary Fire Support System based on the M327 rifled mortar. Objective performance calls for a 20 kilometre range, a 10-metre CEP and the same lethality as the current HE round. This might be obtained by controlling the round fragmentation effect. Two teams are competing for this contract, the winner of the APMI, ATK, in cooperation with General Dynamic Ordnance and Tech Systems on the one hand, and TDA of France with Raytheon partnered with Israeli Military Industries. The ATK Team's solution combines the company's guidance fuse system already in use on the XM395 with GD-OTS extended range mortar energetic subsystems. TDA brings its expertise in rifled mortars, while for the projectile Raytheon adopts a backward-deploying cruciform wing set located in the round's body. According to the company the round will have a five-metre CEP at its maximum 16 kilometre range, but being guided, it can be aimed 5° off-target aim to fool the enemy. In September 2013 Raytheon announced the successful completion of its first two "Guide to Hit" test series. The test confirmed that after launch, the canards and tailfins deployed and that the round transitioned to steady flight. They also confirmed that the round would meet expected range and impact angle requirements. In summer 2014 both ATK and Raytheon will deliver 42 rounds for evaluation during the initial demonstration phase of their initial PERM contract. Upon completion of the demonstration, the Marine Corps will evaluate the results and assess them against the requirements through the remainder of FY15. The Corps is then expected to issue a request for proposal in FY2016 for a full and open competitive procurement program.

Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/330469583/Mortars

Eurosatory 2014: ATK's Solutions of Precision Guidance Kits for Different Calibers

ATK is showing their solutions of precision guidance kits for different calibers (155mm, 105mm, 120mm). In January 2013 ATK got a demonstrator contact by USMC for a Precision Extended Range Mortar PERM 120mm. Partner is GDLS who is producing the shell and the competitor Raytheon (which is offering a missile solution, PERM is flying ballistically). First tests will be in fall 2014. Requirements are: range 20km max, 12km min. and a precision of 20 m. PERM is using the same technology as the 120mm MGK (mortar guidance kit), which is in the final operational testing and was ordered for Afghanistan by Urgent Operational Requirements. MGK has an accuracy of 10 m (army requirement). The 105mm PGK is just at the start of being a concept, while PERM will replace the 105mm howitzer. The PERM system will be air maneuverable inside a helicopter. The technology is already proven with the 155 mm ammunition and because of this family approach it will be reliable and cost effective. The development should end in 2016.

Source: www.miltechmag.com/2014/06/eurosatory-2014-atks-solutions-of.html


Starting off with some images, mostly of the unsuccessful ATK and General Dynamics Design:







Sources for the last three images:

https://ndia.dtic.mil/wp-content/uploads/2012/mcsc/Shrader.pdf
https://ndia.dtic.mil/wp-content/uploads/2017/mes/CSPWright.pdf

 

[A Tentative Fleet Plan]

The winning Raytheon IMI design, images of of which are if anything even harder to get hold of, and which also bears a lot of similarity to the Elbit (who acquired Elbit in 2018) Rapier.

Raytheon Precision Extended Range Munition (PERM) Tests Successful​

By URL[='https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/author/chuck-oldham/']Chuck Oldham (Editor)[/URL] - December 2, 2014

Raytheon announced today that the company successfully fired four Precision Extended Range Munition (PERM) 120mm guided projectiles during testing at Yuma Proving Ground. Three of the GPS-guided rounds reached the required range and hit within the required distance of their targets, according to a company release. One round was fired to the minimum range requirement, striking just a few meters from an off-axis target.

The four rounds, fired from the U.S. Marine Corps M327 120mm rifled towed mortar – also known as the Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS) – met all test objectives, according to Raytheon.

“These firings, combined with earlier environmental lab and integration tests, demonstrate PERM’s maturity,” said Dr. Tom Bussing, vice president of Raytheon’s Advanced Missile Systems. “The testing also shows the high level of integration between the munition’s guidance, navigation and control functions.”

The EFSS is a mobile, quick response indirect fire system usually towed behind an Internally Transportable Vehicle. A precision munition for the rifled mortar was a key capability sought by the Marine Corps. PERM is designed to provide Marines with a lethal, extended range, high probability one-shot capability. Raytheon and Israeli Military Industries jointly developed the munition, and expect to deliver 42 PERM rounds for additional testing later this year.

Source: https://www.defensemedianetwork.com...xtended-range-munition-perm-tests-successful/

Raytheon Missile systems will provide precision guided mortar bombs to the US Marine Corps, under a contract worth $98 million awarded this week by the Pentagon. The contract with the U.S. Marine Corps has a maximum 60-month effective period, with five 12-month ordering periods. Raytheon’s PERM team has partnered with Israeli Military Industries to provide the weapon systems. As such, 39% of the work will be performed in Israel by IMI and its subcontractors. The Marine Corps plans to field 3,113 rounds beginning in 2018.

PERM gives a combat commander the ability to destroy enemy targets at longer ranges using fewer rounds. A typical mortar round travels about seven to eight kilometers. The PERM rounds can reach distances up to 16 kilometers. The basic version selected by the corps is GPS guided with accuracy of 10 meters(industry officials place it within 2 meters). PERM also increases the lethality of the 120mm mortar by as much as 250 percent. In the future Raytheon plans to add semi-active laser guidance to its PERM rounds, enabling mortar teams to hit moving targets designated by forward or airborne target acquisition teams.

The new GPS guided munitions will enable the corps’ M327 rifled 120mm mortar units called ‘Expeditionary Fire Support Systems’ (EFSS) to double the range they can engage targets, and enable those units to hit their intended targets with maximum accuracy and efficiency. EFSS consists of two Internally Transportable-Light Strike Vehicles carrying a mortar tube and ammunition supply that can be moved as a single package in the belly of an MV-22B Osprey or slung under a CH-53E Super Stallion.

In a recent test series PERM munitions were employed in field tests in mountainous firing range, validating the munitions’ maximum and minimum range performance, with demonstrated accuracy levels exceeding the services’ requirements. A unique capability, provided by the efficient aerodynamic design combining tail fins and flaps in the mid-body, enables complex trajectory shaping techniques enabling the round to hit target in steep reverse slopes in mountainous terrain – a task that is often impossible to accomplish by other projectiles, using ballistic trajectory.

These smart munitions comprise IMI’s ‘Pure Heart’ as their ‘brain’ that matches a powerful digital processor and guidance systems, with Raytheon’s GPS based navigation solution, all packed in a compact, lightweight case designed to endure extremely high loads.

According to Marine Corps sources the program came in two months ahead of schedule and 33 percent under budget, at a projected cost of $18,000 per round. The first rounds will be delivered in mid-2018, with a total purchase of 3,113 rounds over five years.

Source: https://defense-update.com/20151210_perm.html

Video of it being test fired:

View: https://youtu.be/yPj9Ebm7efI?feature=shared


Archive link should the worst happen: https://archive.ph/RZzIN