US Army awards Northrop $534M multi-option artillery fuze contract
The US Army has awarded Northrop Grumman a $533.9 million multi-option artillery fuze contract.
The contract runs through July 26, 2027, and work locations and funding will be determined with each order, the Department of Defense announced in a contract notice.
The M782 Multi-Option Artillery Fuze (MOFA) supports all types of 105mm and 155mm artillery projectiles.
The MOFA can operate in four modes: proximity, precision time, impact, and delay, and can be set for any time from 0.5 to 199.9 seconds in 0.1-second increments.
The MOFA is automatically preset before launch through an inductive communication link such as the M1155 portable inductive fuze setter or the TM 9-1290-210-12&P. The fuze setter also confirms the mission data transferred to the fuze.
A proximity fuze such as the M782 reportedly features a more sophisticated trigger mechanism than contact or time fuzes, offering up to ten times greater lethality.
The solicitation notice issued in 2021 stated that the US government intended to procure up to 50,000 fuzes.
