By Geoff Fein

ATK [ATK] recently had a successful test of its Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), as the weapon was able to detect, identify, locate and guide to a simulated enemy target even though the missile’s sensor did not have direct line of sight to the target, the company said.

When AARGM, launched from a Boeing [BA] F-18D, came up and had line of sight of the target, the missile immediately detected and acquired and started to locate the radar target, which it did, very successfully, early on in the mission, Gordon Turner, director strike weapons at ATK, told Defense Daily earlier this week.

AARGM guided to the target, “just as planned, perfectly validating our simulation and hardware in the loop predictions, to a direct hit on the target,” he said.

The test took place Feb. 21 at Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, Calif.

The AARGM Program is satisfied with the technical progress as demonstrated by testing accomplished to date, Capt. Larry Egbert, program manager for PMA 242, direct and time sensitive strike weapons, told Defense Daily yesterday.

“Testing indicates that all Key Performance Parameters and Technical Performance Measurements will be met,” Egbert said. “Testing has included, hardware in the loop testing and chamber testing with [ATK], aircraft integration testing at the Advanced Weapons Laboratory in China Lake, Calif., captive flight testing on both a modified Beech Aircraft and F/A-18C/D, and most recently our second successful live fire, out of two developmental test missile shots, from an F/A-18D.”

AARGM upgrades Raytheon’s AGM-88 High-speed Anti radiation Missile (HARM) with a new seeker, some new electronics, but maintains the existing warhead and rocket motor (Defense Daily, March 26, 2006). “It’s a more capable advanced radiation homing sensor…to detect, and it is also augmented with a terminal radar sensor,” Turner said.

AARGM can be used in its traditional mode against radiating targets, or for long-range precision strike capability, he added.

“What this weapon brings you now is a long-range supersonic strike capability against a whole array of targets because we have the terminal sensor that can go attack,” Turner said. “You can also go attack long-range point-to-point strike capability…you can launch this weapon in that mode of point-to-point or point-to-area where it can go and use its terminal seeker.”

The AARGM upgrade is a joint effort of the Navy and Italy, The program of record for the Navy is to modify approximately 1,750 HARMs, Turner noted.

Among the Air Force, Navy and Italy, there are upward of 18,000 HARMs in the global inventory, he added.

There are currently 6,356 tactical HARMs in Navy inventory, Egbert said.

Because of the improved effectiveness of the weapon system, Navy analysis that was used to support the service’s inventory objective said they could get by with significantly fewer AARGM, Turner said.

The Air Force has no plan to upgrade their stock of HARMs, he added.

Because ATK is taking an existing missile, they have avoided a lot of the significant integration and ordnance qualification costs, Turner explained.

“We are using the rocket motor and warhead from the HARM inventory and we are modifying the mid-body control section to add the GPS-aided INS capability and some advanced processing capabilities for the weapon,” he said. “Then you take the front section, the guidance section, off from the HARM and totally replace it with the new AARGM guidance section.”

By using this approach, ATK greatly simplified and significantly lowered the aircraft integration costs associated with platforms that have historically integrated HARM on to their aircraft, Turner added.

AARGM is on track for a Milestone C decision this summer, followed by a contract award for low rate initial production (LRIP), Turner said.

“A lot of factors are involved in that. We will complete the operational assessment phase this summer to be followed by Milestone C and a LRIP I award,” he said. “IOC for the capability for Navy is in FY ’10.”

Turner added that since award of the contract five years ago, AARGM has remained on schedule. “We are still on track to be meeting all of our original program APB (acquisition program baseline) milestones.”

ATK will be conducting three more AARGM firings over the course of the summer to demonstrate an expanded performance envelope against a diverse threat scenario. Turner said.

“To demonstrate system interoperability across a wider array of requirements to support the Milestone C decision,” he said.

The next live-fire event is planned for later this spring at China Lake, Egbert said. “Early Operational Assessment is planned to be conducted this summer with Full Operational Evaluation to be conducted in 2009.”

Since ATK is still on track with the program schedule, the company doesn’t feel pressured to rush in and do tests, Turner added.

“So we are doing all the proper tests and we have high confidence that when we do enter the flight phases that we are going to be successful and that has been demonstrated by our last two tests where they were both direct guide-to-hit in both scenarios,” he said.

In FY ’09, ATK will begin integration of AARGM onto the EA-18G and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Turner said.

“The Navy has planning to start integration in FY ’09 with the G as the lead platform followed by the E/F,” he said.

The two Boeing aircraft have a common operational flight profile for AARGM integration, he added.

ATK is also looking at international opportunities for AARGM, thanks to the partnership with Italy. In November ’05, Italy and the United States signed a Memorandum of Agreement making AARGM a cooperative development program (Defense Daily, March 28, 2006).

The Italians are developing AARGM for their Tornados, Turner said.

Because both the United States and Italy are part of the international effort developing the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, ATK is looking at AARGM remaining a common weapon into the future for the two countries.

“We are starting to look at paths forward to get the AARGM weapon or AARGM capability on to that airframe,” Turner said. “We are definitely working initiatives in ATK to bring this capability forward to the F-35 and we are starting that job along with the Navy to review those options.”

There is a growing international interest in AARGM as well, Turner noted. “We have requests in from multiple nations for information on the status and availability of AARGM to meet their requirements.”

Among those the company has talked with are the Australians, who are buying F/A-18 Super Hornets.

“We’ve had preliminary discussions with Australian representatives. We met with them at a public release brief we gave with the Navy and Italian Air Force at the Paris Air Show last summer,” Turner said. “[It] would make a logical merger with the platforms they buy. Hopefully, there would be growing interest from them for this capability.”