Precision as a Shield: How PGK Dramatically Improves Artillery Survivability

On today's battlefields, dominated by drones and counter-battery radars, accuracy is not just about improving lethality—it is the shield for survival. By equipping a 155mm shell with the Precision Guidance Kit (PGK), artillery units can shorten mission time, reduce propellant and ammunition expenditure, and most importantly, minimize exposure. This cuts the risk of counter-battery fire and loitering munitions at the source.

1.From Area Fire to Point Strike

The PGK is a small GPS-guided fuse screwed onto the shell’s nose. It combines detonation functions with in-flight course correction, reducing dispersion from hundreds of meters down to near-precision levels.

The core advantage: fewer rounds and less time are needed to achieve the same destructive effect.

Field trials show PGK achieves a median miss distance of about 10 meters, with CEP not exceeding 20 meters—far superior to the 100+ meter dispersion of unguided shells.

2. The Logic of “Precision = Survival”

Fewer rounds, shorter fire window → lower probability of being countered.

• On modern battlefields, counter-battery response times have shrunk to 2–3 minutes, sometimes even faster. Reducing firing time by just 30–60 seconds can significantly improve artillery survivability.

• Training experience across multiple armies confirms: minimizing time on position and exposure is the key to keeping both towed and self-propelled artillery alive. PGK enables “shoot and scoot” by reducing the need for adjustment and repeat fire.

• In Ukraine, counter-battery radars remain high-priority targets. Whoever can compress their firing window first, survives longer.

3. Operational Cases

• Afghanistan: PGK was assessed as “operationally suitable” in its early deployments, enabling near-precision effects with standard high-explosive shells, and drastically reducing collateral damage.

• Ukraine: Open sources confirm that with PGK, Ukrainian artillery has improved first-round effectiveness and accuracy, especially against radars, command posts, and other high-value point targets—achieving missions with fewer shots and faster displacement.

4. Measurable Benefits for Batteries and Battalions

From test data and battlefield practice, three clear benefits emerge:

1. Exposure Time: With fewer adjustments and re-engagements, missions often conclude within 1–2 firing cycles—keeping the “detected–countered” overlap below counter-battery reaction thresholds.

2. Collateral and UXO Reduction: PGK incorporates fail-safe mechanisms (“self-destruct/self-neutralize if miss”), cutting unexploded ordnance risk. This is critical in urban, energy, or infrastructure-heavy zones.

Conclusion

PGK is not just about firepower efficiency—it is a survivability multiplier. In a battlespace where “being detected can mean being destroyed,” precision itself has become the shield.

Keywords

PGK# Precision Guidance Kit# artillery survivability# counter-battery fire# precision strike# Ukraine war# modern artillery

References

• RUSI & ECFR studies on counter-battery timelines in Ukraine conflict

• Open-source reports on PGK use in Afghanistan and Ukraine

• Industry analyses comparing PGK and Excalibur in cost and operational employment