U.S. Army and BAE success Scorpio-XR tests with 155 mm guided rounds exceeding range goals
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BAE Systems and the U.S. Army’s DEVCOM Armaments Center successfully test-fired the Scorpio-XR guided 155 mm projectile on Oct. 13, 2025, with multiple shots “significantly exceeding test objective requirements.” The round, formerly XM1155-SC, is compatible with 52-caliber JBMoU howitzers and is claimed to reach beyond 70 kilometers.
BAE Systems announced on October 13, 2025, that the company and the U.S. Army’s DEVCOM Armaments Center have successfully fired the new Scorpio-XR guided artillery projectile from a 155 mm howitzer, with multiple shots “significantly exceeding test objective requirements” and proving compatibility with NATO-standard 52-caliber Joint Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding howitzers. The round, previously known as XM1155-SC, is pitched to more than double the reach of today’s cannon artillery when paired with advanced sensors, a claim that positions it squarely inside the Army’s long-range precision fires push. Jason Casciotti, BAE’s program director for Combat Systems Development, called the event a “major achievement,” underscoring momentum toward precision at the division scale.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Scorpio-XR is a gun-launched, maneuverable 155 mm projectile: JBMoU-compliant for 52-caliber howitzers; GPS-aided/seeker guidance with EW resilience, gun-launch survivability (~15–20kg), sub-caliber airframe and onboard propulsion enabling 70+ km precision deep-strike against fixed and moving targets (Picture source: BAE Systems).
Scorpio-XR is a cannon-launched, maneuverable precision projectile designed to defeat fixed and moving targets at standoff ranges while surviving the brutal 15,000 to 20,000 g environment of gun launch (Scorpio-XR can resist a force 15,000 times greater than Earth’s gravitational force). Army material on the Extended Range Artillery Munitions effort highlights the trade space that led to this family of concepts: post-launch propulsion, higher muzzle velocity, and increased aerodynamic lift, all wrapped around a lethality package and guidance that must function in GPS-degraded conditions. The program’s progression from ERAMS science and technology to product management reflects successful gun-launch survivability and range demonstrations.
BAE and U.S. Army testing has already shown the projectile guiding to targets from a spectrum of tube lengths, from 39-caliber Paladin configurations through 52-caliber NATO standard and up to 58-caliber ERCA testbeds. An earlier series at Yuma set a Paladin distance record for a guided shot using the XM1155-SC, with GPS-aided guidance housed within a compact, sub-caliber airframe sized to fit existing logistics. The latest round of firings confirms JBMoU compliance on 52-caliber systems, strengthening the case for near-term integration with U.S. and allied howitzers.
Independent reporting indicates Scorpio-XR can reach beyond 70 kilometers, eclipsing the practical envelope of Excalibur in common service and shifting how commanders plan deep fires from cannon artillery. For context, Raytheon lists Excalibur’s reach at roughly 50 km from 52-caliber tubes and about 70 km from 58-caliber guns; BAE now says Scorpio-XR more than doubles current cannon munitions when teamed with advanced sensors, which implies division-level guns can contest targets far deeper into an adversary’s rear.
Scorpio-XR gives U.S. Army fire brigades a tool to penetrate A2/AD bubbles without exposing gun crews. The projectile’s maneuverability and precision are designed to hold moving targets at risk and to retain effectiveness in GPS-degraded environments, a requirement sharpened by the electronic warfare seen in Ukraine. The ability to fire from existing platforms, including M109-series and other JBMoU-compliant 155 mm howitzers, compresses fielding timelines while expanding magazine depth, a critical factor when counter-battery threats and drone surveillance demand shoot-and-scoot tactics and rapid displacement.
The U.S. Army’s top modernization priorities have long placed long-range precision fires near the summit, and recent RAND and CSIS analyses argue that future high-intensity operations will hinge on standoff strike capacity able to survive heavy jamming, persistent ISR, and dense air defenses. With the Army reassessing howitzer modernization, emphasis has shifted toward advanced munitions that unlock new envelopes from legacy guns. In that light, Scorpio-XR is a doctrinal enabler that extends division artillery’s reach, complicates enemy planning, and offers a lower-risk path to overmatch across both European and Indo-Pacific theaters.
Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group.
Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.
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BAE Systems and the U.S. Army’s DEVCOM Armaments Center successfully test-fired the Scorpio-XR guided 155 mm projectile on Oct. 13, 2025, with multiple shots “significantly exceeding test objective requirements.” The round, formerly XM1155-SC, is compatible with 52-caliber JBMoU howitzers and is claimed to reach beyond 70 kilometers.
BAE Systems announced on October 13, 2025, that the company and the U.S. Army’s DEVCOM Armaments Center have successfully fired the new Scorpio-XR guided artillery projectile from a 155 mm howitzer, with multiple shots “significantly exceeding test objective requirements” and proving compatibility with NATO-standard 52-caliber Joint Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding howitzers. The round, previously known as XM1155-SC, is pitched to more than double the reach of today’s cannon artillery when paired with advanced sensors, a claim that positions it squarely inside the Army’s long-range precision fires push. Jason Casciotti, BAE’s program director for Combat Systems Development, called the event a “major achievement,” underscoring momentum toward precision at the division scale.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Scorpio-XR is a gun-launched, maneuverable 155 mm projectile: JBMoU-compliant for 52-caliber howitzers; GPS-aided/seeker guidance with EW resilience, gun-launch survivability (~15–20kg), sub-caliber airframe and onboard propulsion enabling 70+ km precision deep-strike against fixed and moving targets (Picture source: BAE Systems).
Scorpio-XR is a cannon-launched, maneuverable precision projectile designed to defeat fixed and moving targets at standoff ranges while surviving the brutal 15,000 to 20,000 g environment of gun launch (Scorpio-XR can resist a force 15,000 times greater than Earth’s gravitational force). Army material on the Extended Range Artillery Munitions effort highlights the trade space that led to this family of concepts: post-launch propulsion, higher muzzle velocity, and increased aerodynamic lift, all wrapped around a lethality package and guidance that must function in GPS-degraded conditions. The program’s progression from ERAMS science and technology to product management reflects successful gun-launch survivability and range demonstrations.
BAE and U.S. Army testing has already shown the projectile guiding to targets from a spectrum of tube lengths, from 39-caliber Paladin configurations through 52-caliber NATO standard and up to 58-caliber ERCA testbeds. An earlier series at Yuma set a Paladin distance record for a guided shot using the XM1155-SC, with GPS-aided guidance housed within a compact, sub-caliber airframe sized to fit existing logistics. The latest round of firings confirms JBMoU compliance on 52-caliber systems, strengthening the case for near-term integration with U.S. and allied howitzers.
Independent reporting indicates Scorpio-XR can reach beyond 70 kilometers, eclipsing the practical envelope of Excalibur in common service and shifting how commanders plan deep fires from cannon artillery. For context, Raytheon lists Excalibur’s reach at roughly 50 km from 52-caliber tubes and about 70 km from 58-caliber guns; BAE now says Scorpio-XR more than doubles current cannon munitions when teamed with advanced sensors, which implies division-level guns can contest targets far deeper into an adversary’s rear.
Scorpio-XR gives U.S. Army fire brigades a tool to penetrate A2/AD bubbles without exposing gun crews. The projectile’s maneuverability and precision are designed to hold moving targets at risk and to retain effectiveness in GPS-degraded environments, a requirement sharpened by the electronic warfare seen in Ukraine. The ability to fire from existing platforms, including M109-series and other JBMoU-compliant 155 mm howitzers, compresses fielding timelines while expanding magazine depth, a critical factor when counter-battery threats and drone surveillance demand shoot-and-scoot tactics and rapid displacement.
The U.S. Army’s top modernization priorities have long placed long-range precision fires near the summit, and recent RAND and CSIS analyses argue that future high-intensity operations will hinge on standoff strike capacity able to survive heavy jamming, persistent ISR, and dense air defenses. With the Army reassessing howitzer modernization, emphasis has shifted toward advanced munitions that unlock new envelopes from legacy guns. In that light, Scorpio-XR is a doctrinal enabler that extends division artillery’s reach, complicates enemy planning, and offers a lower-risk path to overmatch across both European and Indo-Pacific theaters.
Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group.
Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.
