PARIS, May 4 (UPI) -- French defense procurement agency DGA successfully performed a demonstration firing test of Sagem's AASM modular air-to-ground weapon, the company announced.
The missile was fired from a Rafale fighter against a land target moving at high speed from an extreme off-axis angle at a range exceeding 24 miles.
The impact was at a very low angle, against a moving target represented by a laser spot, generated by a ground illuminator mounted on a turret, to simulate a vehicle.
Using its algorithms for detection and slaving of the trajectory to the laser spot the AASM hit its target to within less than 1 yard, the company said.
Sagem said the inertial/GPS/laser-guided version of the AASM is fitted with a semi-active laser seeker and features algorithms to track fixed or highly mobile targets during the terminal phase. It will enhance the operational flexibility already offered by the AASM family, including two versions that have been qualified for firing by the Rafale multi-role fighter.
The laser terminal guidance version of the AASM will enter volume production for the French air force and navy starting at the end of 2012.
