US Army / Sgt. Torrance Saunders
JAGM is replacing Airborne TOW, Maverick, and Hellfire missiles for Army AH-64 helicopter and MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
John Keller
Mar 18th, 2021
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – U.S. Army missile experts are asking Lockheed Martin Corp. to continue building the JAGM next-generation air-to-ground weapon.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., are asking the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control segment in Orlando, Fla., to build the Joint-Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) under terms of a $201.7 million order announced last week.
JAGM is to replace U.S. Army and Navy inventories of Airborne TOW, Maverick, and Hellfire air-to-ground missiles. Lockheed Martin is building the JAGM for launch from Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, the Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Navy MH-60R helicopter, and the Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter.
The Lockheed Martin JAGM has a multi-mode guidance section with semi-active laser (SAL) sensor for precision-strike and a fire-and-forget millimeter wave (MMW) radar for moving targets in all-weather conditions.
JAGM can engage several different stationary and moving targets in the bad weather, smoke and dust, and advanced countermeasures. Laser and radar guided engagement modes enable JAGM to strike accurately and reduce collateral damage, Lockheed Martin officials say.
JAGM’s targets for helicopters and unmanned aircraft include moving and stationary armored combat vehicles; air defense units; patrol craft; artillery; missile launchers; radar sites; command-and-control nodes; bunkers; and other structures in urban and complex terrain.
The modular and low-risk JAGM design includes the Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire missile body and the new multi-mode seeker. The JAGM guidance section blends semi-active laser guidance and millimeter wave radar to guide the new missile to its target. Future improvements may include an uncooled infrared sensor in a new tri-mode seeker.
The U.S. Defense Acquisition Board in 2018 authorized Lockheed Martin to begin JAGM low-rate initial production (LRIP). Lockheed Martin won a $66.4 million Army contract in 2015 to develop the JAGM missile in anticipation of follow-on production contracts.
On this contract Lockheed Martin will do the work in Orlando, Fla., and should be finished by December 2023. For more information contact Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control online at www.lockheedmartin.com, or the Army Contracting Command-Redstone at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-rsa/.
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