GUY NORRIS / EGLIN AFB
Tests could lead to weapon's development for Predator unmanned air vehicle
LOCAAS, the low cost autonomous attack system under development by Lockheed Martin for the US Air Force, is being readied for three more drop tests, the last of which will use a new turbojet engine.
Programme officials at the Air Armament Center (AAC), Eglin AFB, Florida, say the tests could lead to the transfer of LOCAAS to full development as either a weapon specifically for the General Atomics RQ-1 Predator unmanned air vehicle, or through a more conventional air force acquisition plan for a wider variety of platforms as part of the Miniature Munitions Capability programme. Either path, however, could see LOCAAS integrated with the majority of USAF manned and unmanned strike platforms.
LOCAAS is a miniature, autonomous powered munition capable of broad area search and destroy missions. An initial guided test vehicle trial in February was a success, says ACC LOCAAS programme manager James Moore.
A second flight test is set for late July and the vehicle will "have everything except a warhead". A third test planned for October will have a TV camera in place of the warhead so that guidance performance can be monitored.
The final test, provisionally slated for next April, will use the laser radar seeker from previous tests, but will also be the first demonstration of the Technical Directions J45, a new 30lb-thrust (0.13kN) turbojet. This engine is more suitable than the higher powered Hamilton Sundstrand TJ50 engine used in previous tests.
Due to the use of the bigger than specified engine, the proof-of-concept LOCAAS is around 0.9m (35in) long, or approximately 0.12m longer than the design used to size the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 weapons bay.
The final test flight will also evaluate the wing extension and engine start mechanisms, as in previous tests the wings were locked in the deployed position and the engine started before release.
Current drops are taking place from a modified Cessna 441. "So we are flying at the speed the vehicle will search at. However, we do have plans next year if we get increased funding, to integrate LOCAAS on the [Lockheed Martin] F-16 or [Boeing] F-15 and to do a limited flight test," says Moore.
Pending funding, LOCAAS will be carried on a modified version of the Small Munitions Dispenser due for flight tests later this year.
Source: Flight International
