. | . |
ATK Conducts Successful AARGM Flight Test
Minneapolis MN (SPX) Aug 11, 2008 Alliant Techsystems, the U.S. Navy, and the Italian Air Force successfully completed another challenging missile firing of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake on August 3, 2008. The missile test firing was the first of two "Operational Assessment" firings supporting Milestone C Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) decision later this calendar year. The AARGM was launched off-axis at medium altitude from an FA-18D Hornet. In the operationally-realistic scenario, AARGM successfully demonstrated capability against sophisticated counter-ARM (anti-radiation missile) measures, discriminating the air defense system target in a cluttered environment and guiding to lethal range. During the profile, AARGM used its precision navigation to stay clear of designated impact avoidance zones, a key feature employed to prevent engagement of sensitive, neutral, or friendly regions. The firing demonstrated the weapon system's maturity and provided critical data in support of the upcoming Milestone C LRIP decision. "The result demonstrates the versatility and lethality of AARGM in the presence of threat tactics that defeat legacy Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) weapons," said Dave Wise, General Manager and Vice President for ATK Advanced Weapons. "AARGM delivers an affordable, lethal Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD) capability for U.S., Italian, and potentially other Allied Forces through the upgrade of legacy AGM-88 weapons." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Alliant Techsystems Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
New AMRAAM Variant Destroys Target During Recent Test White Sands Missile Range NM (SPX) Aug 06, 2008 A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter aircraft fired the newest variant of Raytheon's Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile May 22 as part of developmental testing. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |