ATK [ATK], the U.S. Navy, and the Italian Air Force are now two for two in operational assessment missile firings of the company’s AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM).
The program should move into Milestone C and entry into Low Rate Initial Production this fall, a company spokesman told Defense Daily.
Last week’s second operational assessment firing follows one done earlier this month. Both were conducted at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.
The missile firing demonstrated AARGM’s lethality against the modern and advanced air defense systems employing shutdown tactics.
Launched from an FA-18D Hornet, the AARGM detected, identified, located, and guided toward the emitter target using its Anti-Radiation Homing (ARH) receiver., the company said.
After target radar emissions were purposely shut-down during the missile’s flight profile, AARGM utilized its GPS/INS to guide to the final ARH cue and then employed active Millimeter Wave (MMW) radar tracking for terminal guidance against the shut-down air defense site.
The firing was the fourth of eight planned developmental and the final missile live-fire event leading to a Milestone C LRIP decision for AARGM, ATK said.
“We are exceptionally pleased with AARGM’s history of test firings. The combined ATK, Navy, and Italian effort has put us in position to reach Milestone C consistent with the program’s original Milestone B plan,” Jack Cronin, President, ATK Mission Systems, said in a statement. “This result brings us one step closer to delivering an affordable and precise Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD) capability to the U.S., Italian and other Allied Forces through the upgrade of legacy HARM weapons.”
ATK participated in the test in partnership with the U.S. Navy’s Integrated Test Team, led by the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike Program Office (PMA-242).
The team also includes members from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., and the Italian Air Force.
“Our international, government-industry team achieved a major milestone today,” Capt. Larry Egbert, the Department of Defense program manager Direct and Time Sensitive Strike programs, said. “Today’s test has shown the lethality of AARGM against a modern air defense threat employing radar shut-down tactics. The U.S. Navy and Italian Air Force have strived to develop this important capability for several years. We now have it through an affordable upgrade to legacy weapons.”
This development test was part of the AARGM System Development and Demonstration phase and continues the tradition of success established with the Quick Bolt Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration.
With this recent firing, AARGM has achieved eleven live fires and numerous captive carry flights against a wide array of targets.
When fielded in FY ’10, AARGM will be the only extended range tactical supersonic multi-role strike weapon in U.S. and Italian inventory, ATK said.
AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile that will be integrated on the FA-18C/D, FA-18E/F, EA-18G and Tornado ECR aircraft, the company added.