US to supply Lebanon and Austria with high explosive 155mm howitzer rounds

American Ordnance has been awarded an almost $57 million contract to supply 155mm high explosive projectiles to Austria and Lebanon, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a release.

The $56,883,137 modification a 2016 foreign military sales contract (W52P1J-16-D-0050) for 155mm HE projectile M795 TNT has an estimated completion date of December 31, 2021, the Friday, September 21 release said.

The M795 155mm projectile is the U.S. Army and Marine Corps standard 155mm high explosive projectile for howitzers.

The high-fragmentation steel body is filled with 23.8 lb (10.8 kg) of high explosive, giving the approximately 103 lb (47 kg) bursting round fragmentation and blast effects.

TNT was originally used as the explosive fill for rounds destined for U.S. forces, but to make a better insensitive munition, BAE Systems-developed IMX-101 has been used since 2014 to give better resistance against threats like bullets, fragments, and shaped-charge impacts.