Cannon with 1,000-mile range is SLRC

A cannon with a range of greater than 1,000 miles that the Army could test in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 is the Strategic Long-Range Cannon, although a different name was used in a recently posted environmental notice, according to an Army spokesman.

The cannon was called the Extended Range Cannon Artillery II in the notice. ERCA II is the same program as the SLRC, the spokesman told Inside Defense today.

Initial plans for the SLRC said it could fire up to 1,000 miles. It was envisioned as a cheaper complement to hypersonic missiles that could suppress enemy air defense systems.

The Army plans to test-fire the cannon from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, according to the notice.

“The proposed activities would include testing ERCA II by firing non-explosive projectiles over the Pacific Ocean at distances ranging from the shoreline to approximately 1,180 mi (1,900 km) from the shoreline of [Vandenberg Space Force Base] onto and beyond the” Point Mugu Sea Range, CA, the notice stated.