ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Tests to show the flight characteristics of U.S. Navy aircraft carrying Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Ground Missile have been successfully completed.
Lockheed said six tests involving the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet were conducted at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland and totaled 11.2 hours flying time. In the tests the aircraft flew at altitudes of 5,000-35,000 feet and at speeds approaching Mach 1.0.
The JAGM test articles were six instrumented measurement vehicles equivalent in weight, size and dimensions to tactical JAGM rounds and outfitted with resistive temperature devices, acoustic sensors and accelerometers to measure flight conditions experienced by the launchers and the missiles.
Lockheed said three IMVs were loaded on two new Navy fixed-wing triple-rail launchers designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Marvin Engineering to carry JAGM on the F/A-18E/F. Fully outfitted, the Super Hornet could be configured to carry 18 JAGMs, as opposed to four of the Maverick air-to-ground missiles that JAGM will replace.
"The F/A-18E/F presents some of the most challenging environments for JAGM," said Hady Mourad, JAGM program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Collecting vibration, acoustic and shock data in these environments for 11.2 hours of flight with no anomalies or problems represents a very successful beginning of flight test efforts that will continue into the EMD phase to integrate JAGM on the Super Hornet."
