U.S. Air Force to acquire more Griffin missiles

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force has contracted Raytheon to provide Griffin A and B Block II/III missiles and support.

Under the contract, valued at $85.5 million, Raytheon is to provide test and support equipment along with engineering support in addition to the missiles. Work on the contract will be performed at Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by January 2017.

Raytheon's Griffin missiles are capable of being launched from both air and sea platforms. The missile is available in four variants, including the Griffin A aft-eject missile and Griffin B forward-firing missile, which the Air Force will procure under the new contract.

The first variant, Griffin A, is launched from a common launch tube, and is deployable from aircraft platforms including the C-130 Hercules. The forward-firing Griffin B is launched from a composite launch tube from rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. The U.S. Navy has armed the Griffin B on Cyclone-class Patrol Coastal ships.