https://crsreports.congress.gov
September 23, 2024
The Army’s Next Generation Howitzer (NGH) Program
Background
The Army’s current self-propelled artillery system, the M-
109 Paladin, first entered service in the 1960s and has been
upgraded numerous times. The Army has two types of
artillery: self-propelled, a howitzer mounted on a tracked or
wheeled vehicle, or towed, a howitzer towed by a vehicle
and then dismounted to fire. In 1994, the Army began to
develop the Crusader, an advanced self-propelled 155-
millimeter (mm) howitzer and an accompanying resupply
vehicle. The Crusader was canceled in May 2002 when
then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated that
future enemy threats did not require the Crusader and that
DOD wanted instead to invest in other emergent
technologies. The Army’s second attempt to develop a new
self-propelled artillery system, the Non-Line-of-Sight
Cannon (NLOS-C), was to be developed as part of the
Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program, which
started in 1999 and was cancelled in 2009 when then-
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates restructured the program
and cancelled its associated vehicles. The third attempt for a
new system was the Extended Range Cannon Artillery
(ERCA) program (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. ERCA Prototype
Source: U.S. Army, “ERCA Autoloader is being tested for first time
at YUMA Proving Ground,” August 15, 2019.
The ERCA program started in 2018 and reportedly was
intended to
extend the range of artillery fire from 30 kilometers
to 70 kilometers (43.5 miles). This would have
given the Army a significant advantage on the
battlefield. Unfortunately, the new design, which
featured a 30-foot gun tube mounted on a Paladin
M109 chassis, experienced problems during live-
fire testing. These issues prevented the ERCA from
reaching its projected range and forced the Army to
abandon the project.
Reportedly, the major testing issue was excessive wear on
the gun tube after firing a relatively low number of rounds.
The Army discontinued the ERCA program in April 2024.
The Army’s Next Generation Howitzer
(NGH) Program
The Army’s Next Generation Howitzer (NGH) program
will be the Army’s fourth attempt to develop a new self-
propelled howitzer with extended firing range. In the
aftermath of the ERCA cancellation, the Army initiated a
new conventional fires study in 2023 to determine the way
ahead for artillery modernization. The study was completed
in March 2024 and reportedly determined “the service
should focus on more autonomous artillery systems with
greater range and improved mobility.”
NGH Program Requirements
According to Army FY2025 budget documents,
The NGH will provide highly mobile, survivable,
versatile, transportable, longer range fire support
under a broad set of challenging operational
conditions against current and emerging, small to
large scale threats through 2040 and beyond. NGH
reduces emplacement and displacement times,
provides increased crew survivability and better
cross-country mobility, adds overall effectiveness,
and affords improved fire support capability for
field artillery formations well beyond what towed
howitzer systems can provide.
NGH Program Activities
The Army reportedly conducted a number of successful
tests with the ERCA before cancelling the program; those
past testing activities are to inform the NGH program. For
example, in 2022, ERCA hit a target at 70 kilometers (43
miles) with an M-982 Excalibur extended-range guided
artillery shell. Army officials indicated the NGH program
will also involve the further development of extended-range
artillery ammunition.
On August 28, 2024, the Army issued a request for
information (RFI) to industry to
identify and preliminarily review the maturity of
potentially offered self-propelled howitzer systems.
The U.S. Government (USG) is interested in
systems that have high maturity and minimize or
eliminate development time. Additionally, the USG
is interested in understanding the possible future
modernization options for those systems. Any
information received in response to this survey will
be used by the USG to assess the viability of
potential future acquisition strategies. When
