PAUL LEWIS /WASHINGTON DC

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon win risk-reduction contracts for Loitering Attack and Precision Attack missiles

The US Army is preparing to transfer its NetFires/Missile in a box (MIB) concept from a demonstration to a full-scale development programme. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have been awarded risk-reduction contracts for the Loitering Attack Missile (LAM) and Precision Attack Missile (PAM), respectively, along with a planned common container/launcher.

The two companies have been pursuing independent LAM and PAM demonstrations under a separate Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-funded programme that is due to be concluded this year. The new $7.5 million contracts are designed to ready the two MIBs for the start of system demonstration and development  (SDD) at year-end and to merge the two container/launcher designs into a common system.

"We'll sit down with Lockheed Martin and decide what's best," says Glen Sutton, Raytheon NetFires programme manager. Although fundamentally different in terms of guidance and propulsion, PAM and LAM are complementary weapons that share a 180mm (7in) diameter airframe, designed for vertical launch from a standalone containerised box. The 15-cell container/launcher is intended initially to be mounted on the back of a Humvee all-terrain vehicle.

Raytheon expects to conduct the first of seven guided tests of a complete PAM next month. The missile has an uncooled imaging infrared seeker and will be equipped with semi-active laser guidance. A high- bandwidth datalink will be used to receive off-board targeting data and updates. The missile is powered by an Aerojet 20-400lb (0.09-1.8kN) controllable thrust rocket, intended to optimise speed and extend range to 40km (22nm).

Lockheed Martin is due shortly to flight test the first LAM, which will be equipped with a laser-radar seeker, which with the aid of a target recognition system can be used for its own guidance and to cue PAM. The missile has a Microturbo turbojet, to be replaced during SDD by a turbofan, and an extending wing to provide a 30min cruise and 70km range.

Work to be completed during SDD includes development of LAM and PAM warheads, and producing an arming device and reducing weight for production. Lockheed Martin LAM business development manager Steve Altman says SDD with full funding could be cut to three years because of work done during the demonstration.

Source: Flight International