Missile must show it can meet its demanding requirements during "risk mitigation phase"
The US Army has scheduled several milestone tests during a 14-month probationary period that will begin immediately after the Joint Common Missile (JCM) programme is awarded in late April.
Teams led by Boeing/Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have submitted final proposals for the $4-6 billion programme, which is intended to replace Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire and Raytheon AGM-65 Maverick missiles used by the US Army and US Navy. The UK has also signed on to observe the development phase, and the US Air Force has shown interest.
The winning contractor must show progress at each milestone test before the army approves proceeding into a scheduled, three-year system development and demonstration (SDD) phase in fiscal year 2005.
Three flight tests during the "risk mitigation phase" must show the missile can meet its demanding requirements. The air-to-surface JCM is being designed for launch from rotary- and fixed-wing platforms, and includes a tri-mode seeker, a dual-mode warhead, a programmable fuze and a dual-pulse rocket motor. It will be the same size as the 178mm (7in) diameter, 53kg (108lb) Hellfire.
Army officials want to enter the SDD phase having already completed missile development and confident that the missile will work as required, says Paul Walker, Raytheon's vice-president of land combat systems. Several high-risk areas remain, despite a three-year risk reduction effort that preceded the competitive bidding phase. The competing teams have already developed and tested tri-mode seekers for the missile.
According to Lockheed Martin, the army's highest concern now is focused on the fuze-to-warhead chain. The weapon requires a fuze that can survive both anti-armour and bunker penetration, plus strikes on softer targets, such as boats.
Boeing has focused on the missile's propulsion system and has completed a ground-launched live-fire test over 17km (9nm). The production JCM is expected to fly 16km on launch from a helicopter and 28km from a fixed-wing aircraft.
Last week, Lockheed Martin announced that its Roxel/Aerojet rocketmotor propellant had achieved a 20:1 turndown ratio in a static fire test. Lockheed Martin also has staged preliminary testing of its warhead and fuze system, with a strike on a hardened bunker target.
Raytheon says that it is continuing engineering and design work in response to the requests for information.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / FORT LAUDERDALE
Source: Flight International