Raytheon-Boeing team responds to call for JAGM

Raytheon Company submitted its proposal for the US Army and Navy's Joint Air-to-Ground Missile competition and responded as a prime contractor. Raytheon is teamed with The Boeing Company for the JAGM programme.

Raytheon and Boeing have proven capabilities that were showcased in the JAGM technology demonstration phase. The team enters the competition with an unmatched 3-for-3 record of success in the contractually required guided test vehicle flights. One of the reasons for the team's success is the use of a proven, tri-mode seeker incorporating semiactive laser, uncooled imaging infrared and millimeter wave guidance.

"Instead of cobbling together bits and pieces of hardware from legacy programmes, we offer a fully integrated tri-mode seeker that provides an exceptionally reliable, low-risk path to engineering and manufacturing development," said Bob Francois, Raytheon vice president of Advanced Missiles and Unmanned Systems. "Rather than complicating matters by using a cooled seeker, we worked in close concert with our customers to determine smarter and simpler ways to arrive at a superior system solution. The uncooled seeker on the Raytheon-Boeing JAGM is just one example of that, and our overall system solution integrates targeting information from powerful aircraft onboard sensors with our advanced seeker to provide exceptional capability."

In addition to achieving a 3-for-3 success rate in government-funded testing, the Raytheon-Boeing team also went 3-for-3 in company-funded testing. Boeing executives attribute part of that success to the team's use of production-ready hardware.

"The team demonstrated that it is possible to give the warfighter a single rocket motor solution capable of withstanding the rigors of fixed- and rotary-wing flight," said Carl Avila, director of Boeing's Advanced Weapons and Missile Systems. "A single rocket motor and uncooled tri-mode seeker provide improved reliability and simplified logistics, while saving the taxpayer money over the life of the programme."

JAGM, designed to replace three legacy systems, offers the warfighter improved lethality, range, operational flexibility, supportability and cost savings compared with older, Cold War-era weapons including all variants of the Hellfire missile.

JAGM is scheduled for integration on the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet; the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow; the MH-60R Seahawk; the AH-1Z Super Cobra; the MQ-1C Gray Eagle; and the OH-58 CASUP Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter.

Source: Raytheon