Last Friday, March 8, the US Army announced the cancellation of its Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) program due to insurmountable technical challenges.
This decision marks a setback in the Army’s quest for enhanced long-range artillery capabilities.
Engineering Hurdles Plague ERCA Program
The Army is scrapping its new self-propelled long-range cannon program, ERCA, after running into many engineering problems during testing. Launched in 2018 with big promises, the idea was to beef up the Paladin howitzer with a super-long barrel that could fire farther than ever before.
The service subsequently built 20 practice cannons: two for destructive testing and the rest to outfit an entire battalion.
Unfortunately, the design had some kinks to work out, and the prototype cannons just weren’t holding up.
Picture this: they wanted to slap a 30-foot, 58-caliber gun tube onto the Paladin M109, allowing it to sling 155-millimeter rounds up to 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) away.
Sounds like something out of a sci-fi flick, right? Well, it didn’t quite pan out that way.
ERCA autoloader’s speed demonstration in 2021 (Image source: DVIDS)
Prototyping Challenges Unveiled
The ERCA program hit snag after snag during development. They couldn’t get past the prototyping phase, which is never a good sign.
Doug Bush, the Army’s mouthpiece on this one, revealed that the prototypes just weren’t cutting it.
Talking to reporters during a Friday briefing on the fiscal 2025 budget request, Bush said that the prototyping activity had already concluded last fall and “Unfortunately, [it was] not successful enough to go straight into production.”
Live-fire tests painted an even bleaker picture, with the cannon showing wear and tear faster than expected. Sure, they managed to hit the mark during tests in Arizona, but that was about it.
Shifting Strategy: Exploring Existing Solutions
Now, instead of pushing ahead with a new platform, the Army is looking at what’s already out there.
They’re sending out feelers to see if any existing systems can meet their needs, and they’re also eyeing options from both home and abroad.
This whole mess wasn’t a surprise. Back in June 2023, the Army saw the writing on the wall: they were going to miss their deadlines due to all these engineering headaches.
Originally, they were aiming to wrap things up by December 2022, but that ship sailed long ago.
The unveiling of the ERCA program cancellation comes a month after the Army backed out of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program.
Future Prospects and Budget Allocation
But hey, it’s not all doom and gloom.
The Army is still determined to beef up its artillery and has set aside $55 million for 2025 to find a suitable solution.
“It’s a shift from developing something new to working with what is available both domestically or internationally to get… the range and volume,” Bush added. “So, we want to find a different way to get there.”
So, yeah, the ERCA program crashing and burning is a setback. But it’s a reminder to tackle those technical challenges head-on and stay flexible when things go south.
The quest for better artillery isn’t over yet—far from it.
