YUMA — Yuma Proving Ground is one of the largest military installations in the country.
Located in southern Arizona, the base is known for hosting military exercises and testing equipment for the Department of Defense.
One of the pieces of equipment currently being tested is the precision guidance kit or PGK.
The PGK takes old artillery rounds and turns them into smart weapons.
"So if you think about it, we make sure the product that goes into a service member's hand is going to do what it says it's going to do,” said Col. Ben McFall, YPG’s base commander.
Even though the technology has been around for a decade, crews still test the equipment for quality assurance. They’re also looking for ways to improve it.
Engineers told ABC15 a normal artillery round would land somewhere within four football fields of a target.
However, by using a PGK, troops can reduce the area of impact to half an endzone.
Precision-guided artillery has been used in the U.S. military’s war on terrorism. It was also part of the White House’s package sent to Ukraine to help them in its fight against Russia.
McFall said the technology being tested at YPG may end up saving someone’s life.
"Future generations will never know who I am, who the people working here are but they will come home because of the work we did today,” he said.
