Cost of all these systems is highly varied right now and does not adequately, reliably, show the peruser of this article which type of system would be the best $$$/weapon for a real war as frankly, GMLRS, Excalibur, JDAM, Javelin were cojointly developed at the same time.  All this R&D that went into these systems has now been used on all new systems. Those stating new systems are way cheaper,  well, no they aren't as they simply don't have the R&D overburden developed by these previous systems.  Follow on prices will drop drastically. 

 

We never will know which system is cheapest per weapon as that would truly require a major war.  Another thing to question is Logistics.  While the GMLRS has a giant range advantage along with a simple tactical deployment, it likewise has a giant Logistics impracticality added to it.  Same container volume of 12 GMLRS is equivalent to roughly a hundred or more Excalibur shells.   In a more likely scenario, not the policing action ongoing in Afghanistan, this would really bite into the logistics pipeline if one went with GMLRS over Excalibur. 

 

Few verses many.   Both have their place.

 

Once again, trade off range, bang, logistics.   I would go with logistics trumping for the most part range and bang. 

Thanks, a unit asks for fire support how long does it take for the shells to arrive?

 

Some of the units are 45 miles away, I am curious about wait times. 

The approval process is probably the limiting factor, due to the concern about collateral damage. At it’s worst point there are claims that requests had to be vetted and approved by JAG in the Pentagon. Things got better when stories started appearing in the Press of troops being pinned down for hours because they could not get fire support.

 

Micromanagement. The curse of the telecommunications age.

As has been done throughout all ages of warfare, you fit strategy/tactics to your logistics pipeline.  If you have 1000 Excalibur shells for use, but only 24 GMLRS missiles, do you send a heavy force 40 miles out to engage in what you are darned sure will be a very heavy engagement with 100 heavy targets?  No.  Small scouting forces?  Sure. If ones officers do send out said engagement dance carousel, without the backing of artillery, then you should be "thanking" your idiot officers and if any of you survive, pull out your sidearm and shoot the dumb ass through the head, even if you get sent to Leavenworth.

 

Strategy, Tactics, Logistics, they all work together.  

 

There are no miracle beans making a $1 bullet into an ICBM.