A US Navy Boeing Stand-Off Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) successfully hit a target on San Nicolas Island in the Point Magu Sea Test Range off the California coast on 10 December.
The test flight, launched from a Boeing F/A-18C/D, was the third and most complex yet in the series of developmental tests.
The US Department of Defense approved low-rate initial production covering 60 SLAM-ERs after the initial test on 18 March.
The SLAM is a derivative of the Harpoon anti-ship missile. It is designed for precision strikes against high-value land and sea targets. The SLAM-ER incorporates upgrades to the baseline SLAM, including planar wings for improved range, an upgraded warhead to increase penetration, and software improvements.
In the third test, the SLAM-ER autonomously navigated through a set of manoeuvres and flew more than 120km (65nm) to the target. Programme officials say that the weapon "-continues to perform well and met the test objectives".
Source: Flight International
