First Firing of AARGM Supersonic Anti-Radar Missile

ATK, Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) Achieves Major Milestone
First AARGM Developmental Live Firing Successfully Demonstrates Precision Long Range Time Critical Strike Capability

MINNEAPOLIS: Alliant Techsystems, the U.S. Navy team of PMA-242, the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division — China Lake, and the Italian Air Force recently conducted the first Developmental Test (DT) firing of an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) from an F/A-18 aircraft on the China Lake test ranges on 25 May 2007. 
 
The test firing confirmed the effective integration of AARGM with the F/A-18 aircraft and the continued progress of fielding a long-range, precision strike capability against a wide array of time critical targets. 
 
The missile successfully achieved safe separation from the aircraft, navigated over an extended range to the designated target location, and guided to a direct hit. The successful flight test met all test objectives. 
 
“This was the most significant test in the history of the AARGM program,” said Dave Wise, Vice President and General Manager, ATK Advanced Weapons. “Not only did the AARGM missile score a direct hit, it demonstrated how ATK's design offers the war planner affordable, stand-off time sensitive strike capability.”  
 

“The entire international AARGM team is very pleased with the results of today's successful test,” said CAPT Larry Egbert, the Department of Defense program manager for HARM and AARGM programs, “This event marks a major milestone in the AARGM SD&D program and demonstrates the positive results that a true international cooperative effort can yield. This successful test demonstrates the viability of an affordable Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD) capability for U.S., Italian, and potentially other Allied Air Forces through the upgrade of legacy AGM-88 weapons.” 
 
The recent test was the first Developmental Test firing of the AARGM System Development and Demonstration (SD&D) phase and continues the tradition of success established with the Quick Bolt Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) and AARGM Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) phases of the program. During those tests, AARGM achieved seven successful test flights. 
 
The AARGM program plans a series of additional launches during the SD&D phase. ATK expects to begin Low Rate Initial Production in FY08. When fielded in FY09, it will be the only extended range tactical supersonic strike weapon in US and Italian inventory. 
 
In addition to demonstrating long-range, supersonic, GPS precision strike capability and maturity; the test also demonstrated AARGM's compatibility with ATK's Common Munitions Built-in-test/Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE), as well as the Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS) and AWM-103. The test also demonstrated AARGM's compatibility with the F/A-18C/D 21X Software Configuration Set, and the successful integration of AARGM hardware and software with legacy AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) components. 
 
AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile that will be integrated on the F/A-18 C/D, F/A-18 E/F, EA-18G and Tornado IDS/ECR aircraft. The missile is also being designed to be compatible with the EA-6B and U.S. and Allied F-16 aircraft. Its advanced multi-sensor system, including a Millimeter Wave (MMW) terminal seeker, advanced digital Anti-Radiation Homing (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 discriminate non-emitting time sensitive targets. AARGM is a network-enabled weapon that directly receives tactical intelligence information via an embedded data link and provides near real-time Weapon Impact Assessment (WIA) reports. 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 $3.8 billion advanced weapon and space systems company employing approximately 15,500 people in 21 states.