Army puts in option to add second source within 12 months
The contract for the US vanguard of next-generation missile technology - the US Army/Navy Joint Common Missile (JCM) - has been awarded to Lockheed Martin. Unsuccessful bidders Boeing and Raytheon, meanwhile, hope to re-enter the programme next year as potential second-source suppliers for JCM's complex tri-mode seeker.
A $5 billion order for about 54,000 JCMs is expected to replace the army and navy's stockpiles of Raytheon AGM-65 Mavericks and Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfires, and Lockheed Martin hopes to provide JCM as the replacement for the Tube Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire Guided (TOW) missiles for the Future Combat System, plus incorporate the weapon on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Sea-based variants are also being considered.
The UK Ministry of Defence is participating in the development phase as an observer, eyeing the programme as a possible replacement for Brimstone missiles. The US Army expects to start deploying the weapon in 2010.
Lockheed Martin now enters a 14-month risk-mitigation phase before the heart of the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase can begin. The initial period ends when Lockheed Martin can produce and launch a control test vehicle incorporating JCM's three key technologies - tri-mode seeker, sustain-boost rocket motor and multifunction warhead and fuze.
Lockheed Martin's design must contain the missile within the 188mm (7in) diameter, 59kg (108lb) frame of the Hellfire round. The task of launching the same missile body from helicopters and high-speed fighters will be tackled after the risk-mitigation period, says Lockheed Martin director of tactical missiles Rick Edwards.
Lockheed Martin was selected after a programme of internally funded risk-reduction activities, which included live demonstrations of the seeker, warhead and rocket motor. Its team includes Aerojet, Perkin-Elmer Optoelectronics, Honeywell and Roxel.
Sensitive to the costs of developing a tri-mode seeker, the army has included an option, expiring after 12 months, to qualify a second source, says Edwards. Both Boeing and Raytheon see this as an opportunity for re-entry if the development of Lockheed Martin's sensor lags or the price goes up. Lockheed Martin would manage the competition, says Edwards, if the army decides to exercise the option.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
