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Missile enters engineering and manufacturing development phase

By Richard Tomkins
An artist's depiction of the joint air-to-ground missile. Image by Lockheed Martin
An artist's depiction of the joint air-to-ground missile. Image by Lockheed Martin

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Ground Missile is entering its engineering and manufacturing development phase under a U.S. Army and Marine contract.

The two-year contract, worth $66.3 million, covers production, test qualification and integration of the JAGM on AH-64 Apache and AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters and establishes an initial low-rate manufacturing capability in support of two follow-on low-rate initial production options.

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"The EMD contract validates the merits of our mature, modular and proven JAGM design," said Frank St. John, vice president of tactical missiles and combat maneuver systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "We will continue to work closely with the Army and Navy as we move through the EMD phase and into low-rate initial production, ensuring we meet initial operational capability (status) in 2018 on budget and on schedule."

JAGM is an air-to-ground missile for use on helicopters and unmanned aircraft, It features a multi-mode seeker for precision strike and fire-and-forget capabilities against moving targets.

Prior to award of the EMD contract, the JAGM achieved a 100 percent rate in the Army's flight testing of its guidance section.

"Throughout all five tests, we have demonstrated that both sensors - onboard radar and semi-active laser - effectively operate together to provide an enhanced capability against stationary and moving targets for precision point or fire-and-forget targeting," said U.S. Army Project Manager Col. James Romero.

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