Future Artillery 2025: Tiberius unveils Sceptre ramjet 155 mm munition

Mock-up of the Sceptre ramjet 155 mm munition unveiled by Tiberius Aerospace on 19 May. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)

Tiberius Aerospace unveiled its Sceptre ramjet 155 mm munition on the eve of Defence iQ's Future Artillery 2025 conference being held in London from 20 to 22 May. The 155 mm ramjet extended-range precision-guided ballistic munition has a range of up to 150 km, depending on a maximum payload of 5.2 kg, and has a circular error probable of approximately 3.5 m, even in GPS-denied environments.

It is launched at Mach 2 or faster depending on the artillery firing it and accelerates to a peak velocity of Mach 3.5. Trajectory shaping obfuscates its launch location and the engine powers down and enters the glide phase, and the munition reaches an altitude over 65,000 feet (19,812 m), beyond jamming range and where the GPS synchronises. The ramjet then reignites and accelerates to Mach 3.5 again, and the munition is guided into its target using the onboard GPS and inertial measurement unit to synchronise and leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to correct errors. Multiple munitions can communicate in flight to further refine targeting.

The system is compatible with NATO-standard 155 mm artillery platforms, and its ignition system and limited barrel contact points minimise barrel degradation, according to Tiberius. To reduce the logistics burden, minimise storage and in-transit safety hazards, and maximise shelf life beyond 20 years, Sceptre uses a just-in-time, multi-fuel (diesel, JP-4, and JP-8) liquid propellant.