Posted by Courtney Howard
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., 31 Dec. 2009. The U.S. Army fired two TALON Laser-Guided Rocket guided test vehicle rounds during the Aviation Multi-Platform Munition Demonstration.
TALON LGR is a cooperative development effort between Raytheon Company and Emirates Advanced Investments of the United Arab Emirates.
The TALON LGR rounds were launched from a U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowa Warrior and hit targets at 3,500 meters (2.17 miles), reveals a Raytheon representative. It exceeded accuracy requirements for the Department of Defense's Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II program.
"In September, the U.S. Army clearly stated the need for a guided munition capable of being launched from the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior," notes Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "TALON LGR can meet that operational need. U.S. forces will be able to obtain a fully qualified laser-guided rocket that meets or exceeds all the guided 70 mm rocket requirements without expending tens of millions of dollars in research, evaluation, and testing."
The TALON LGR is a low-cost, semi-active laser guidance and control kit that connects directly to the front of the 2.75-inch unguided rockets fired from the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. It requires no software or hardware modifications to the launcher or aircraft platform and can be fired from any aircraft that fires 2.75-inch unguided rockets.
"LGR is a highly reliable precision rocket solution for a variety of fixed- and rotary-wing platforms," says Hussain Al Hammadi, EAI's chief executive officer. "The success of this demonstration further proves the TALON LGR will provide warfighters with a precision capability they've never had before."
TALON LGR fills the critical operational capability gap between unguided rockets and guided, heavy anti-tank missiles, says an official.
"This year's small-guided munition demonstration is critical because we're exploring options to provide precision-guided capabilities to our combatant commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan," says Col. Michael Cavalier, Joint Attack Munitions Systems project manager. "This demonstration has given us a better understanding of our options with regard to developing a precision-guided weapon that can be launched from a Kiowa Warrior."
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