On Thursday, May 14, 2026, U.S. company BAE Systems Inc., part of the UK’s BAE Systems, unveiled on social media a prototype of the MDACS (Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon Systems) “multi-domain” artillery gun, capable of firing Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP) ammunition.
Photo: BAE Systems
The unveiling coincided with the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) 2026 symposium and exhibition, organized by the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) in cooperation with U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), held in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 12–14 this year.
The U.S. Army had been seeking a new type of artillery gun since July 2024. Unlike traditional howitzers, however, the goal was not to provide indirect fire against ground targets, but to use hypervelocity ammunition as an air defense system. In December of the same year, BAE Systems Inc. was awarded a contract to deliver a prototype-configured battery in 2027 and conduct an operational demonstration in 2028.
The requirement was for a wheeled platform with high tactical mobility, providing a high degree of survivability through rapid displacement. The prototype’s main armament was to be either the contractor’s own offering or a U.S. Army gun, but highly automated and autonomous in terms of firing. Other requirements included a high rate of fire, large ammunition magazine capacity, and rapid reloading of the gun from a transport-loader vehicle, either manually or automatically.
BAE Systems developed the HVP ammunition in two calibers: 127 mm for the U.S. Navy and 155 mm for the U.S. Army.
As for the land-based variant, it was reported on September 3, 2020, that during exercises simulating a Russian cruise-missile attack using Kratos BQM-167 Skeeter unmanned aerial target vehicles, one of them was shot down for the first time using a BAE Systems HVP hypervelocity projectile fired from a 155-mm M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.
In terms of target engagement, HVP ammunition is to communicate with external sensors that track both the shot and the target. The gun is to cooperate with an external Command and Control, Battle Management (C2BM) system and the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) command system.
It is worth mentioning that in the summer of 2020, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) presented the concept of the GLADIATR (Gun Launched Area Defense Interceptor Against Threats and Raids) wheeled gun, under the Hypervelocity Gun Weapon System (HGWS) initiative of the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) office.
The Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System (MDACS) is built to move fast and hit hard. Air transportable and armed with Hypervelocity Projectiles, it delivers rapid, high-rate firepower wherever the fight demands. This is the future of adaptable, unstoppable artillery. #MDACS… pic.twitter.com/3djixFCx4N
— BAE Systems, Inc. (@BAESystemsInc) May 14, 2026