DeeDee Doke/LONDON
Within five months of firing for the first time in anger a Boeing AGM-130 precision-guided missile, the US Air Force says the weapon's "accuracy has been proven as advertised".
First deployed against Iraq and now during Operation Allied Force, the retargetable day-or-night AGM-130 is contributing to USAF claims that 99.93% of all weapons are not causing collateral damage. The USAF declines, however, to specify the number of AGM-130s dropped, or its precise accuracy rate.
Only one 674-missile order has been placed with Boeing, but the weapon remains in production, opening the door for further USAF procurement.
Deployed by Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle fighters, the stand-off missile is targeted using global positioning system satellite navigation co-ordinates. It can be redirected in mid-course by a weapons systems operator (WSO) via real-time targeting information uploaded by datalink, until a "terminal phase a long time after launch as features become more apparent", says Frank Robbins, director of the precision strike programmes office at Eglin AFB, Florida.
"I can't say it's an easy weapon to deploy," says a USAF F-15E WSO. "It takes training, and we practise it regularly. But, if you've got a precision-guided missile, it's easier because you don't have to go back there again."
Source: Flight International