By Marina Malenic
The two industry teams competing for the Pentagon’s Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) production contract have submitted responses to a draft solicitation and reported successful early testing this week.
Frank St. John, the program director for Lockheed Martin’s JAGM development effort, told reporters that the company submitted its comments on the draft request for proposals (RFP) last month.
“There were no surprises in that document,” St. John said on the sidelines of the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space conference. He said the company sought some “administrative clarifications” in advance of the Defense Department’s anticipated release of a final RFP.
The Army requested responses and comments by April 30 (Defense Daily, April 2).
The next-generation missile will be carried on rotary-wing, fixed-wing and unmanned aerial system (UAS) platforms, with an expected initial operational capability in 2016. The missile is expected to replace Hellfire II, Longbow Hellfire and Maverick missiles.
The government anticipates “a limited competition restricted to the current JAGM System Technology Demonstration Phase Contractors,” Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Raytheon [RTN] (Defense Daily, Sept. 19, 2008).
The final JAGM RFP is expected on or before July 3.
Lockheed Martin executives said extensive testing of their tri-mode seeker is well under way, and over 30 missiles have already been built. They expect to fire their first “technically representative” JAGM later this month.
Meanwhile, Raytheon and Boeing [BA] also announced completion of wind tunnel testing on their JAGM yesterday. The companies are partners on the effort, combining a body and warhead from Boeing and a tri-mode seeker developed by Raytheon.
The Defense Department has indicated that it will likely procure some 35,000 JAGM rounds, though if the missile is extended to other platforms, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and international platforms, that could be much higher.
St. John said the missile is a “natural fit” for the Air Force’s close air support missions.
In 2000, JAGM replaced the Joint Common Missile program, ended due to concerns over cost. Lockheed Martin held that contract when the program was terminated.
Asked whether the Pentagon will get a better price for the missile this time around, St. John said the military is “getting their money’s worth” from the extended technical development phase and competition between the two contractors.
“It’s really given us an opportunity to further mature the technology and really lean on affordability,” he said.