U.S. missile shows bunker-busting ability

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., June 28 (UPI) -- A next-generation missile destined for the U.S. Navy and Army passed a recent test of its capabilities to destroy enemy bunkers.

NetFires LLC announced Thursday that its Precision Attack Missile warhead blew a hole in the wall of a fortified earth-and-timber bunker in a recent "Dynamic Bunker" test at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

The company, a joint venture of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, had been looking to see if the warhead would detonate on impact and breach the bunker wall as expected.

PAM is one of the core weapon systems being developed by the United States for the Future Combat Systems program and the Littoral Combat Ship. The precision missile is designed for a number of roles, not the least of which is flattening enemy bunkers and other strongholds.

The non-line-of-sight missile is guided to the target using a dual-mode laser and infrared seeker. It is small enough to be mounted on a Humvee and has been proposed as an addition to the AC-130 gunship.

NetFires earlier this spring carried out a successful test launch of the missile itself and anticipates wider-scale testing later in the year.