Lockheed Martin [LMT] yesterday said it recently demonstrated its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) dual-mode guidance section during a second internally funded flight test at Eglin AFB, Fla.
During the test, the rail-mounted JAGM flew 6.2 kilometers and initially acquired the target using its precision strike, semi-active laser. The dual-mode guidance section then engaged its millimeter wave radar, and the moving target was destroyed, the company said in a statement.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
The flight test is a risk reduction milestone critical to Lockheed Martin’s performance on the U.S. Army’s 27-month Continued Technology Development program. The CTD contract runs through November.
In May, the Army issued a draft request for Proposals for the JAGM engineering and manufacturing development and low-rate initial production phases, which are expected to begin in fiscal year 2015.
Frank St. John, vice president of tactical missiles and combat maneuver systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (LMMFC), said: “This second flight test success demonstrates that Lockheed Martin’s JAGM solution is a proven, low-risk capability. Our risk reduction activities support the U.S. Army’s goal of using a demonstrated guidance section that minimizes cost and risk and eliminates the need for additional development efforts during the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase.”
Lockheed Martin continues the CTD and follows the Army’s acquisition strategy, company spokeswoman Melissa Hilliard said. “Now, we are building guidance sections in our Ocala, Fla., and Troy, Ala., factories for use in component and system qualification testing.”
In July 2013, Lockheed Martin was selected by the Army as the only company to continue providing a JAGM solution for the CTD program, Hilliard said. After CTD is complete, the Army has said other contractors will be afforded the opportunity to re-enter the JAGM competition during the EMD phase.
In a February flight test, Lockheed Martin successfully demonstrated the JAGM dual-mode guidance section by engaging a laser-designated moving target six kilometers downrange.
The dual-mode seeker features an improved semi-active laser sensor and a low cost, all-weather, fire-and-forget, next generation millimeter wave radar.
Lockheed Martin’s dual-mode JAGM guidance section will be manufactured on an existing production line.
The modularity and open architecture of Lockheed Martin’s JAGM design ensure continued affordability and readily support the Army’s Incremental Acquisition Strategy, the statement said. This approach also supports the Department of Defense Better Buying Power Initiative, which encourages defense contractors and the U.S. government acquisition community to determine new and innovative ways to reduce the cost of their goods and services.