The U.S. Army has decided to cancel the science and technology research effort for a potential program to develop a strategic long-range cannon, the service confirmed.
Long-Range Precision Fires is a top priority for the Army when it comes to developing a modernized force capable of facing off against near-peer adversaries like China. The Strategic Long-Range Cannon, or SLRC, could provide a way to achieve artillery ranges of 1,000 nautical miles.
Congress directed the Army to stop funding the long-range cannon in its fiscal 2022 appropriations act, and “based on that direction, the Secretary of the Army decided to terminate the [SLRC] project this year,” Ellen Lovett, Army spokesperson said in a May 20 statement to Defense News.
The decision also “eliminates potential redundancy, and ensures we effectively use tax dollars to achieve modernization objectives,” she wrote. “Pursuing the effort could cost billions of dollars even if the science and technology effort succeeded because the Army would have to enter into a development program, procure the system, and create entirely new units to operate it.”
The Army still has four other long-range fires programs set to reach operational Army units in 2023: Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA), the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), the Mid-Range anti-ship Missile (MRC) and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).