Orbital ATK Unit Wins $53Mln to Turn Artillery Shells Into ‘Smart’ Weapons

A business unit of US aerospace supplier Orbital ATK won more than $53 million to manufacture a precision guidance kit M1156 to turn existing 155 mm artillery shells into smart weapons, according to the Pentagon.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A business unit of US aerospace supplier Orbital ATK won more than $53 million to manufacture a precision guidance kit M1156 to turn existing 155 mm artillery shells into smart weapons, the Department of Defense said in a press release.

"Orbital Alliant Techsystems Operations [of] Plymouth, Minnesota was awarded a $53,591,925… for procurement of precision guidance kit M1156," the release stated on Thursday.

The M1156 Precision Guidance Kit, formerly XM1156, is a US Army-designed precision guidance system primarily made by Alliant Techsystems that is designed to turn existing 155 mm artillery shells into smart weapons.