--- title: "5 things the US has fired out of cannons besides artillery rounds" description: "High-explosive rounds and metal balls are the cliche options for what to fire out of cannons. Here are a few other items we've tested." date: "2022-04-17" modified: "2023-04-12" authors: - name: "Logan Nye" job_title: "Senior Contributor, Army Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/logan-nye/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/5-things-the-us-has-fired-out-of-cannons/" categories: - "Tactical" - "Weapons" --- # 5 things the US has fired out of cannons besides artillery rounds ![]() High-explosive rounds and metal balls are the cliche options for what to fire out of a howitzer. Discerning cannon users who want to fire less stereotypical munitions should check out these military experiments. ## Here are 5 things the US has fired out of cannons besides artillery rounds ### 1. Nuclear warheads ![cannons]() *Photo: US Federal Archives* There was a time when the American nuclear arsenal was as much about tactical weapons as strategic, and one of the greatest artillery rounds was the M65 which packed a 15 to 20-kiloton nuclear warhead. The U.S. has phased out nuclear artillery rounds, but China, India, and Pakistan still have them. ### 2. Drones Artillery-launched drones are a thing, allowing batteries to launch [drones]() in support of special operators and other ground forces. Right now, the main drone launched from cannons is the Coyote drone. Coyotes are [used in the Navy's experimental LOCUST project](), a plan to launch "swarms" of up to 30 drones from cannons. The drones would work together to achieve tough missions. ### 3. Space program experiments ![cannons]() *Photo: Public Domain* Project HARP was a U.S. and Canadian program to test space re-entry vehicles by firing them from cannons. A HARP cannon at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona [successfully fired a test vehicle on Nov. 18, 1966, to an altitude of 111 miles](), almost 50 miles above the boundary of space. Most of the HARP tests were fired to lower altitudes and carried experimental space parts to see how they acted during descent. ### 4. Cameras In the late 1970s, the Army experimented with [firing artillery rounds that carried cameras that could beam video back to a ground station]() for the duration of the rounds' parachute-resisted descent. The tests were mostly failures, but [the Army still designed a lethal version of the round]() that carried an explosive canister. ### 5. Rockets ![cannons]() *An M109A6 Paladin fires a gas-propelled round during calibration in Mosul, Iraq. Photo: US Army Spc. Gregory Gieske* The U.S. military developed the [M549, a 155mm artillery shell that featured increased range thanks to a rocket engine]() housed inside the round. The cannon crew fired the round with normally and, before the round started to drop, the rocket engine would ignite and increase the weapon's range. ## Author Logan was an Army journalist and paratrooper in the 82nd. Now, he's a freelance writer covering military history, culture, and technology. He has two upcoming podcasts and a Twitch channel focused on basic military literacy. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Facebook]()