BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin are forming an industry partnership to develop a 127 mm (5-inch) precision-guided Extended-Range Munition (ERM) for the US Navy. The joint venture, announced on 2 July, follows the cancellation earlier this year of navy funding for Raytheon's Extended-Range Guided Munition (ERGM). The new projectile, which is 1.5 m long and weighs 50 kg, will be compatible with the Mk 45 gun mounted in Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which currently fire substantially smaller unguided ballistic rounds (0.66 m and 32 kg). James Schoppenhorst, BAE Systems' vice-president for naval programmes, said the rocket-assisted ERM "is a round that the navy has attempted to have in development for a long time. It has a requirement to fire a minimum 41 n miles with GPS-type accuracy".
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