The
U.S. Army is testing the Bushmaster 50 mm cannon as a
counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) and counter
unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) weapon. Initially developed under the Extended Area Protection and Survivability Integrated Demonstration (EAPS ID), it fires a 50×319 mm cartridge and has been successfully tested in tracking distant moving targets using
interferometric radar as a sensor, fire control computer, and radio frequency transmitter and receiver to launch a course-correcting projectile. The command guided interceptors have a thruster that receives commands for maneuvering and warhead detonation, with a
tantalum-
tungsten alloy liner to form forward propelled penetrators to defeat C-RAM targets, and steel body fragments to destroy UAVs. The systems can destroy UAVs at a range of and at a height of . Converting the Bushmaster III to the 50 mm version can be accomplished by changing the barrel and a few key parts allowing it to fire the SuperShot 50 cartridge. Separately, under the Army's Advanced Lethality and Accuracy System for Medium Caliber (ALAS-MC) effort, Northrop Grumman (which had acquired Alliant Techsystems) was contracted to develop a 50 mm derivative of the Bushmaster III called the
XM913 for the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV), later designated the
XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle (MICV), that would replace the
Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Although a further evolution of the Bushmaster III, this weapon fires the 50×228 mm cartridge rather than the 50×319 mm SuperShot 50 cartridge of the previous up-gunned variant. Various rounds include the XM1203 armor piercing sabot round and XM1204 high explosive round with a programmable fuse including delay and airburst. == Specifications ==