Development Timeline
The FCS development schedule calls for the first NLOS Cannon prototypes to be delivered to the Army in 2008. The following timeline outlines the current development milestones demonstrating the system is on schedule.
June 2008
Prototype 1 of the Non Line of Sight-Cannon made its first public appearance on the National Mall directly in front of the U.S. Capitol Building, June 11. A total of eight such prototypes will eventually be delivered to Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., by 2009. The first five of those will be delivered by December 2008, the remaining three in early 2009. At Yuma, Army testers from the Army Test and Evaluation Command, will put the eight prototype NLOS Cannon vehicles through rigorous, detail-oriented testing, to ensure they meet performance requirements, said Lt. Col. Robert McVay, product manager for the NLOS Cannon. Read more.
May 2008
BAE Systems completes integration of first NLOS Cannon prototype. Read more.
March 2008
BAE Systems successfully completes final evaluation testing of the Hybrid Electric Drive to be integrated into the NLOS Cannon’s chassis this month.
February 2008
The NLOS Cannon travels more than 10,000 miles through its one-of-kind test center that evaluates the reliability of the NLOS Cannon in an operational environment.
The NLOS Cannon firing platform at Yuma Proving Ground has fired more than 1,700 rounds.
August 2007
BAE Systems starts evaluation testing of the hybrid electric system for the NLOS Cannon.
July 2007
The U.S. Army announces a total of 18 NLOS Cannon Initial Production Platforms will be produced starting in late 2008 and continuing at a rate of six vehicles per year through 2011.
October 2006
BAE Systems successfully fires the first round from the NLOS Cannon Firing Platform at Yuma Proving Ground. The milestone is achieved one month ahead of schedule and only three weeks after the Firing Platform was delivered to the firing range. The achievement marks the first time a U.S. howitzer fired its very first live-fired round using tactical software (the electronics that enable the powering and robotic loading and firing of the gun). Having the tactical software fully integrated with the auto-loading system and gun assembly – which usually takes months or years to achieve after the first round is fired – significantly speeds the development and reliability testing process.
September – October 2006
NLOS Cannon Firing Platform, an early test asset for the common Manned Ground Vehicle mission equipment, is delivered to Yuma Proving Ground to begin testing and qualification of the system’s ultra-lightweight 38-caliber cannon and breech.
February 2006
The 2,000th round is fired from the NLOS Cannon Concept Technology Demonstrator (CTD) at Yuma Proving Ground. The milestone marks the transition from test-firing the NLOS Cannon CTD to testing and integrating new hardware for the objective NLOS Cannon prototypes scheduled for delivery beginning in 2008.
August 2005
The NLOS Cannon CTD successfully fires six, four-round Multiple Round Simultaneous Impact (MRSI) missions. During each mission, all rounds impacted within four seconds of each other. The missions were fired at Zones 2 and 3 using a combination of M231 and M232 Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS) propellants, marking the first time a U.S. howitzer fired a MRSI mission using more than one type of standard MACS propellant.
June 2005
The first round is fired through the NLOS Cannon CTD using a Zone 4, 38-caliber cannon tube at Yuma Proving Ground. The lighter-weight, 38-caliber length tube, replaced the Demonstrator's 39-caliber length tube, which had previously fired more than 1,193 rounds since August 2003.
February 2004
NLOS Cannon CTD undergoes mobility assessments to evaluate hybrid-electric drive and band track systems.
November 2003
Tactical software enables the NLOS Cannon CTD to complete an eight-round fire mission at greater than six rounds per minute, marking the first time an automated cannon is fired using tactical software.
August 2003
As a first step in NLOS Cannon development, BAE Systems designed and built the NLOS Cannon Concept Technology Demonstrator (CTD). The CTD was a fully automated, 24-ton, 39-caliber, 155-mm self-propelled howitzer test platform that fired its first round at Yuma Proving Ground in August 2003. The CTD featured a fully automated ammunition handling system, with a magazine capable of holding various projectiles. The fully automated NLOS Cannon CTD was built to provide an early demonstration of the capabilities, performance and technologies that will be incorporated into the NLOS Cannon prototype and production vehicles.
