Latest news with #M982Excalibur
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine's defense industry says the fight against Russia has shown it that the West's approach to weapons is all wrong
The West is approaching weaponry the wrong way when thinking about major conflicts, a Ukrainian industry rep said. Countries need a lot of pretty good weapons instead of only a handful of excellent ones. It's a warning that industry officials, experts, and some European defense ministers have echoed. Ukraine's defense industry is urging the West to abandon its longtime fixation on sleek, expensive weaponry in favor of cheaper, mass-produced arms, the kind needed to survive and win a grinding war of attrition against Russia. Serhiy Goncharov, the CEO of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries — which represents around 100 Ukrainian companies — told Business Insider that the West's longstanding focus on fielding limited numbers of cutting-edge systems could be a serious disadvantage in a protracted conflict. Those systems are good to have, but mass is key. The war in Ukraine shows you don't need a handful of ultra-precise, expensive weapons, Goncharov told BI. You need a massive supply of good enough firepower. He said that the expensive weapons like the US military's M982 Excalibur guided munition (each shell costs $100,000) "don't work" when the other side has electronic warfare systems and the kind of traditional artillery rounds that are 30 times cheaper. Goncharov pointed to the M107, a self-propelled gun that was first fielded by the US in the 1960s, as an example of inexpensive firepower that can be effective in large numbers. "You don't need 10 Archers from the Swedish that are probably one of the best artillery systems in the world," he said, referring to the artillery system made by BAE Systems that was given to Ukraine by Sweden. Instead, you need 200 cheap howitzers like the Bohdana one that Ukraine makes. The "enormous rate of damage," the significant rate of ammo and equipment attrition, in a fight like this means you need a constant supply of weaponry to keep fighting, especially when there isn't any guarantee the high-end weapons will be the game changers promised. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been one marked by extensive use of artillery and tremendous ammunition expenditure. The war in some ways resembes the huge, destructive battles of World War I and World War II, with high casualties and substantial equipment losses. Russia has one of the world's largest militaries backed by a large population. The country has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to pursue an attritional style of warfare, committing a lot of troops and weaponry to a fight to slowly wear down its foe. Russia's invasion has chewed through equipment. The UK Ministry of Defense said in December that Russia had lost over 3,600 main battle tanks and almost 8,000 armored vehicles since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The Russians have the mass to absorb those losses. Ukraine has struggled with weapon and ammo shortages, as well as deficiencies in manpower. Ukraine turned to small, cheap drones as an asymmetric warfare alternative; Russia has employed uncrewed systems in battle as well. China, another concern in the West, has built a similar kind of force, one with the mass to take losses. The West, on the other hand, has spent the last two decades and change fighting lower-level adversaries where its forces can win the day with superior capabilities. Goncharov's warning is one that has been echoed by other Western defense officials and companies. Countries have been keen to learn lessons about fighting Russia from the conflict in Ukraine, particularly in Europe, where many countries warn Russia could pursue further aggression in the future and defense spending is growing rapidly. Gabrielius Landsbergis, the former defense minister of Lithuania, a NATO ally bordering Russia, previously described the war to Business Insider as one of "high quantities." He said that while the West has largely focused on new and expensive weaponry that takes a long time to manufacture, Russia has been "building something that's cheap, that's expendable, that's fast." He said the West has "been preparing for a different kind of war" than what it would face in one against Russia, focusing on impressive equipment that is "very expensive." Troels Lund Poulsen, the Danish defense minister, previously told BI that "one of the lessons" from Ukraine is that the West needs far greater quantities of inexpensive weaponry to meet the threats posed by Russia and China. The head of NATO, Mark Rutte, urged countries to take similar learnings earlier this year, saying the alliance is too slow at developing weapons. He said the alliance works toward perfect, "but it doesn't have to be perfect." He said that Ukraine will go ahead with equipment that is a "six to seven" out of 10, while NATO militaries insist on reaching "nine or 10." He said it wasn't about getting rid of the expensive weaponry completely, but about finding a balance. It's about "getting speed and enough quality done in the right conjunction." That's something warfare experts have also told BI. Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow and the director of research in the foreign-policy program at the Brookings Institution, said the West's approach needs to change. The American military, for instance, is far more used to wars where "the whole point is you're not going to be slogging it out for months and years on end." But he also said that doesn't mean the West needs to completely abandon the development of advanced systems. "Those things have not become unimportant just because we realized that other things are also important," he said. The UK's armed forces minister also warned last month that the war showed the West needs to change how it procures weaponry. Luke Pollard said Ukraine's fight showed NATO "the way we have run our militaries, the way we have run our defense, is outdated." He said NATO militaries "build and procure really expensive high-end bits of kit. And it will take you five, 10 years: five years to run a procurement challenge, another 10 years to build it." Industry has taken note, too. Kuldar Väärsi, the CEO of Milrem Robotics, an autonomous unmanned ground vehicle company in NATO ally Estonia, told BI in May that "we need to learn from Ukraine, and we need to get more pragmatic about what kind of equipment we buy." He said Europe needs to learn that "having a hundred more simple pieces of equipment is better than having 10 very sophisticated pieces of equipment." He said countries need to start buying less-sophisticated pieces of weaponry en masse so industry can adjust. "Industry has to manufacture what the customer is buying. And if the customer is still buying only a few very sophisticated items, then the industry just aligns with that." And the reality is that may not work. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Ukraine's defense industry says the fight against Russia has shown it that the West's approach to weapons is all wrong
Ukraine's defense industry is urging the West to abandon its longtime fixation on sleek, expensive weaponry in favor of cheaper, mass-produced arms, the kind needed to survive and win a grinding war of attrition against Russia. Serhiy Goncharov, the CEO of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries — which represents around 100 Ukrainian companies — told Business Insider that the West's longstanding focus on fielding limited numbers of cutting-edge systems could be a serious disadvantage in a protracted conflict. Those systems are good to have, but mass is key. An argument for mass The war in Ukraine shows you don't need a handful of ultra-precise, expensive weapons, Goncharov told BI. You need a massive supply of good enough firepower. He said that the expensive weapons like the US military's M982 Excalibur guided munition (each shell costs $100,000) "don't work" when the other side has electronic warfare systems and the kind of traditional artillery rounds that are 30 times cheaper. Goncharov pointed to the M107, a self-propelled gun that was first fielded by the US in the 1960s, as an example of inexpensive firepower that can be effective in large numbers. "You don't need 10 Archers from the Swedish that are probably one of the best artillery systems in the world," he said, referring to the artillery system made by BAE Systems that was given to Ukraine by Sweden. Instead, you need 200 cheap howitzers like the Bohdana one that Ukraine makes. The "enormous rate of damage," the significant rate of ammo and equipment attrition, in a fight like this means you need a constant supply of weaponry to keep fighting, especially when there isn't any guarantee the high-end weapons will be the game changers promised. Russia's grinding attritional warfare Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been one marked by extensive use of artillery and tremendous ammunition expenditure. The war in some ways resembes the huge, destructive battles of World War I and World War II, with high casualties and substantial equipment losses. Russia has one of the world's largest militaries backed by a large population. The country has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to pursue an attritional style of warfare, committing a lot of troops and weaponry to a fight to slowly wear down its foe. Russia's invasion has chewed through equipment. The UK Ministry of Defense said in December that Russia had lost over 3,600 main battle tanks and almost 8,000 armored vehicles since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The Russians have the mass to absorb those losses. Ukraine has struggled with weapon and ammo shortages, as well as deficiencies in manpower. Ukraine turned to small, cheap drones as an asymmetric warfare alternative; Russia has employed uncrewed systems in battle as well. China, another concern in the West, has built a similar kind of force, one with the mass to take losses. The West, on the other hand, has spent the last two decades and change fighting lower-level adversaries where its forces can win the day with superior capabilities. European and NATO are waking up Goncharov's warning is one that has been echoed by other Western defense officials and companies. Countries have been keen to learn lessons about fighting Russia from the conflict in Ukraine, particularly in Europe, where many countries warn Russia could pursue further aggression in the future and defense spending is growing rapidly. Gabrielius Landsbergis, the former defense minister of Lithuania, a NATO ally bordering Russia, previously described the war to Business Insider as one of "high quantities." He said that while the West has largely focused on new and expensive weaponry that takes a long time to manufacture, Russia has been "building something that's cheap, that's expendable, that's fast." He said the West has "been preparing for a different kind of war" than what it would face in one against Russia, focusing on impressive equipment that is "very expensive." Troels Lund Poulsen, the Danish defense minister, previously told BI that "one of the lessons" from Ukraine is that the West needs far greater quantities of inexpensive weaponry to meet the threats posed by Russia and China. The head of NATO, Mark Rutte, urged countries to take similar learnings earlier this year, saying the alliance is too slow at developing weapons. He said the alliance works toward perfect, "but it doesn't have to be perfect." He said that Ukraine will go ahead with equipment that is a "six to seven" out of 10, while NATO militaries insist on reaching "nine or 10." He said it wasn't about getting rid of the expensive weaponry completely, but about finding a balance. It's about "getting speed and enough quality done in the right conjunction." That's something warfare experts have also told BI. Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow and the director of research in the foreign-policy program at the Brookings Institution, said the West's approach needs to change. The American military, for instance, is far more used to wars where "the whole point is you're not going to be slogging it out for months and years on end." But he also said that doesn't mean the West needs to completely abandon the development of advanced systems. "Those things have not become unimportant just because we realized that other things are also important," he said. The UK's armed forces minister also warned last month that the war showed the West needs to change how it procures weaponry. Luke Pollard said Ukraine's fight showed NATO "the way we have run our militaries, the way we have run our defense, is outdated." He said NATO militaries "build and procure really expensive high-end bits of kit. And it will take you five, 10 years: five years to run a procurement challenge, another 10 years to build it." Industry has taken note, too. Kuldar Väärsi, the CEO of Milrem Robotics, an autonomous unmanned ground vehicle company in NATO ally Estonia, told BI in May that "we need to learn from Ukraine, and we need to get more pragmatic about what kind of equipment we buy." He said Europe needs to learn that "having a hundred more simple pieces of equipment is better than having 10 very sophisticated pieces of equipment." He said countries need to start buying less-sophisticated pieces of weaponry en masse so industry can adjust. "Industry has to manufacture what the customer is buying. And if the customer is still buying only a few very sophisticated items, then the industry just aligns with that." And the reality is that may not work.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Precision-Guided Munition Market worth $49.71 billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The precision-guided munitions market is estimated to be USD 37.24 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 49.71 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 5.9% according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets™. Precision-guided munitions represent a rapidly evolving domain within the defense sector, characterized by the integration of advanced targeting technologies, autonomous guidance systems, and modular warhead configurations. PGMs enable defense forces to transition from conventional volume fire tactics to high-precision, low-collateral, and scalable strike capabilities across land, air, and sea platforms. Download PDF Brochure: Browse in-depth TOC on "Precision-Guided Munition Market" 200 – Tables100 – Figures230 – Pages Precision-Guided Munition Market Report Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2025 $ 37.24 billion Estimated Value by 2030 $ 49.71 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% Market Size Available for 2020–2030 Forecast Period 2025–2030 Forecast Units Value (USD Million/Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Product, System, Launch Platform, Speed, Mode of Operation, Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of World Key Market Challenge Storage and lifecycle challenges Key Market Opportunities Miniaturization of precision-guided munitions Key Market Drivers Rising military modernization programs This shift is supported by the growing need to improve operational efficiency, enhance strike effectiveness, and minimize the broader tactical and political risks associated with conventional bombardment strategies. PGMs are widely adopted across platforms ranging from unmanned aerial systems and fighter aircraft to mobile artillery and naval launchers. Based on guided ammunition, the guided artillery shells segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Guided artillery rounds are a rapidly developing niche within the precision-guided munitions (PGM) market, offering revolutionary ground-based fires. They match the range and destructive power of traditional artillery with the precision of sophisticated guidance systems, providing first-round effects and significantly minimizing ammunition consumption, mission time, and collateral damage. Artillery has in the past been employed for area suppression or volume fire missions. Guided artillery rounds, however, offer precision targeting of high-value targets like command posts, mobile air defenses, and dug-in positions, without needing multiple adjustments or salvos. GPS/INS, laser, or terminal homing sensors direct these rounds to maintain high accuracies at extended ranges, even in dynamic or contested environments. The M982 Excalibur, Vulcano, and Krasnopol systems are in the process of being deployed or are in a mature development stage with backward compatibility to current 155 mm and 152 mm howitzers. Backward compatibility allows for swift increases in firepower without platform replacement, which is an attractive modernization option. Programmable shells are especially useful in GPS-denied areas or in urban combat, where accuracy is crucial and traditional rounds are too dangerous. In addition, the combination of programmable fuzes, target data links, and AI-assisted targeting is increasing the tactical utility of these rounds across a range of mission profiles. Based on product, the loitering munitions segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Loitering munitions are becoming one of the most rapidly growing and disruptive segments in the precision-guided munitions market because of their singular capability to integrate real-time reconnaissance, target recognition, and strike within a single, lightweight system. These munitions, commonly referred to as "kamikaze drones," are engineered to loiter or patrol over a target zone for hours, or even days, waiting for high-value or time-critical targets to materialize before striking with precision. Their two-fisted capability of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), followed by a rapid strike, gives loitering munitions an operational and tactical advantage over their conventional PGM counterparts, which involve pre-plotted target coordinates. They are highly useful in liquid, decentralized, or asymmetric theaters, where the battlefield is liquid and threats are mobile. Inquiry Before Buying: Based on region, North America is expected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period. North America will hold the highest percentage in the global precision-guided munitions industry because of its unparalleled defense manufacturing base, consistent military spending, and strategic focus on advanced cutting-edge precision strike technology. Historically, the focus has been on precision rather than merely on numbers when it comes to military policy. As a result, precision-guided munitions have become a cornerstone of force presentation strategy across all militarily significant domains: land, air, sea, and space. The United States Department of Defense alone is the largest purchaser and producer in the PGM market, sustaining a healthy pipeline of programs in tactical missiles, smart bombs, loitering systems, and extended-range fires. Flagship programs like JDAM, GMLRS, StormBreaker, JAGM, and PrSM are not only used nationally but also exported abroad, supporting the North American dominance in world standards and interoperability. North America is also blessed with the presence of top defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, who have advanced expertise in areas such as guidance systems, propulsion, modular munitions, and AI-targeting. These kinds of organizations are constantly breaking the boundaries of innovation and developing long-term partnerships with defense agencies to implement future PGMs rapidly, with testing and development. Key Players Northrop Grumman (US), RTX (US), General Dynamics Corporation (US), BAE Systems (UK), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), MBDA (France), Israel Aerospace Industries (Israel), QinetiQ (UK), Boeing (US), and Aselsan AS (Turkey), are some of the leading companies in the precision-guided munitions companies. These companies have well-equipped manufacturing facilities and strong distribution networks across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: Browse Adjacent Market: Aerospace and Defence Market Research Reports &Consulting Related Reports: Military Vehicle Sustainment Market by Vehicle Type (Armored Vehicles, Military Trucks), Service (Maintenance, Repair, & Overhaul (MRO), Training & Support, Parts and Components Supply, Upgrades & Modernization), End User, and Region- Global Forecast to 2028 Armored Vehicles Market by Platform (Combat Vehicles, Combat Support Vehicles, Unmanned Armored Ground Vehicles), Type (Electric, Conventional), Mobility (Tracked, Wheeled), Systems, Mode of Operation, Point of Sale, and Region - Global Forecast to 2029 About MarketsandMarkets™ MarketsandMarkets™ has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets™ is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. With a global clientele of over 13,000 organizations, we help businesses thrive in a disruptive ecosystem. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion in new revenue streams that are replacing existing ones within this decade. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines – TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we collaborate with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies to keep them future-ready. Our insights and strategies are powered by industry experts, cutting-edge AI, and our Market Intelligence Cloud, KnowledgeStore™, which integrates research and provides ecosystem-wide visibility into revenue shifts. To find out more, visit or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan SalgarkarMarketsandMarkets™ INC. 1615 South Congress 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445USA: +1-888-600-6441Email: sales@ Our Web Site: Insight: Source: Logo: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
