Second Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Firing

MINNEAPOLIS: Alliant Techsystems, the U.S. Navy, and the Italian Air Force completed another challenging missile firing of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake on August 11, 2008. The missile test firing was the second of two "Operational Assessment" firings needed to support a Milestone C Decision and entry into Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP).

The operationally realistic scenario demonstrated AARGM's lethality against the modern and advanced air defense systems employing shutdown tactics. Launched from an FA-18D Hornet, the AARGM detected, identified, located, and guided toward the emitter target using its Anti-Radiation Homing (ARH) receiver. After target radar emissions were purposely shut-down during the missile's flight profile, AARGM utilized its GPS/INS to guide to the final ARH cue and then employed active Millimeter Wave (MMW) radar tracking for terminal guidance against the shut-down air defense site. The firing was the fourth of eight planned developmental and the final missile live-fire event leading to a Milestone C LRIP decision for AARGM. It continues the programs impressive record of test firings.

"We are exceptionally pleased with AARGM's history of test firings. The combined ATK, Navy, and Italian effort has put us in position to reach Milestone C consistent with the program's original Milestone B plan," said Jack Cronin, President, ATK Mission Systems. "This result brings us one step closer to delivering an affordable and precise Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD) capability to the U.S., Italian and other Allied Forces through the upgrade of legacy HARM weapons."

ATK participated in the test in partnership with the U.S. Navy's Integrated Test Team, led by the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike Program Office (PMA-242). The team also includes members from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division -- China Lake, the Naval Air Systems Command -- Patuxent River, Maryland and the Italian Air Force.

"Our international, government-industry team achieved a major milestone today," said CAPT Larry Egbert, the Department of Defense program manager Direct and Time Sensitive Strike programs. "Today's test has shown the lethality of AARGM against a modern air defense threat employing radar shut-down tactics. The U.S. Navy and Italian Air Force have strived to develop this important capability for several years. We now have it through an affordable upgrade to legacy weapons."

This development test was part of the AARGM System Development and Demonstration phase and continues the tradition of success established with the Quick Bolt Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration. With this recent firing, AARGM has achieved eleven live fires and numerous captive carry flights against a wide array of targets. When fielded in FY10, AARGM will be the only extended range tactical supersonic multi-role strike weapon in U.S. and Italian inventory.

AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile that will be integrated on the FA-18C/D, FA-18E/F, EA-18G and Tornado ECR aircraft. The missile is also designed for compatibility with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, EA-6B Prowler and U.S. and Allied F-16 Falcon aircraft. Its advanced multi-sensor system, including a MMW terminal seeker, advanced digital ARH receiver and a GPS/INS, is capable of rapidly engaging traditional and advanced enemy air defense targets as well as non-radar time-sensitive strike targets.

The AARGM MMW seeker can operate in concert with the ARH to counter RF shutdown tactics, or in a stand-alone mode to guide to non-emitting time sensitive targets. AARGM is a network-enabled weapon that will directly receive tactical intelligence information via an embedded receiver and transmits real-time Weapon Impact Assessment (WIA) reports prior to impact. AARGM, the successor to the U.S. Navy AGM-88 HARM system, is a U.S. and Italian international cooperative major acquisition program with the U.S. Navy as the executive agent.

ATK is a premier aerospace and defense company with more than 17,000 employees in 21 states and $4.5 billion in revenue.