The U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 11 September that Lockheed Martin has been awarded $49,618,289 modification (P00059) to contract for the procurement of Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles.
According to the DoD’s statement, Lockheed Martin Corp. was awarded a $49,618,289 modification (P00059) to contract W31P4Q-15-C-0102 for the procurement of Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles.
Work on this contract is expected to be finalised in February 2021 and will be performed in Orlando, Florida.
The JAGM system hardware that demonstrated over 95 percent reliability in flight testing is built on the active HELLFIRE® missile family production line by the same team that has produced over 75,000 missiles with a fielded reliability exceeding 97 percent.
According to the Lockheed Martin, the JAGM combines the capabilities of the HELLFIRE II and Longbow HELLFIRE missiles into a single missile. The major contractor combined two sensor technologies – semi-active laser (SAL) and millimeter wave (MMW) radar – into a single seeker and guidance system and mated it to the HELLFIRE Romeo warhead, motor, and flight control systems.
The dual seeker, in addition to providing independent SAL and MMW targeting, offers two combined modes using both the laser and MMW seekers to maintain desired performance in degraded environments and against threat countermeasures.
The modularity and open architecture of Lockheed Martin’s JAGM design ensure continued affordability and readily support the Army’s Incremental Acquisition Strategy.
This approach also supports the Department of Defense Better Buying Power Initiative, which encourages defense contractors and the U.S. government acquisition community to determine new and innovative ways to reduce the cost of their goods and services.