XM-198 Howitzer
| Type: | Medium towed field artillery |
| Caliber: | 155 millimeter (6.1in) |
| Length: | 36.1 feet (11m) |
| Width: | 9.1 feet (2.7m) |
| Height: | 9.5 feet (2.9m) |
| Weight: | 15,045 pounds (6,825kg) |
| Range: | 11-18.5 miles (17.7-30km) |
The M198 howitzer, which began development in 1968, was a towable medium-sized artillery piece designed to replace the 12,780-pound M114 howitzers that had been in use since 1942. The M198 was to be lighter, transportable by helicopter, and more maneuverable on the ground. While the M114 firing the M107 projectile had a range of nine miles, the M198 was capable of firing the same projectile at eleven miles. Improved and guided munitions could reach up to 18.5 miles. The M198 was compatible with any 155mm munition, including nuclear-capable W48 shells, M549 Rocket-Assisted Projectiles, and submunition-carrying rounds like the M483, which carried Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICMs).
One of the primary test missions for the M198 howitzer at White Sands Missile Range was the M712 Copperhead, a 155mm Cannon-Launched Guided Projectile (CLGP). The Copperhead could also be fired from the M114 howitzer and M109 self-propelled howitzer. In addition to the analog instruments and ground support equipment inherited from its predecessors, the M198 howitzer also utilized a Battery Control System (BCS), a Tactical Fire Direction System (TACFIRE), and a Field Artillery Digital Automatic Computer (FADAC).
The M198 was ordered into production in 1977, but fielding and retraining efforts were complicated due to force structure problems in the Army 86 concept and the inability of the new howitzer to meet its intended capabilities, especially in maneuverability and transportability. Like the M270 MLRS, the First Gulf War showed how taxing heavy equipment could be on available air transportation. The Marine Corps could only lift its 541 M198s with its heaviest rotary wing aircraft, the CH-53E Super Stallion, though only in fair weather conditions. The M777 howitzer began replacing the M198 in 2005. The howitzer in Missile Park is specifically an XM198, where the “X” refers to its experimental designation, and was the seventh ever made. It weighs 750 pounds less than a standard M198 and was tested at the Small Missile Range on WSMR.