Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System by BAE to be integrated on unmanned aircraft

NASHUA, NH, 19 Sept. 2012. BAE Systems will be integrating its Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) onto an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The company, which designed and manufactures the guidance section of the laser-guided rocket, was recently awarded a U.S. Navy contract to add the APKWS onto the MQ-8B Fire Scout UAV.

This will allow the Fire Scout to engage targets on land or at sea with laser-guided accuracy while keeping our warfighters out of harm's way.

The system is being integrated onto the Fire Scout in response to an operational need and is being prepared for rapid deployment. BAE Systems will support this rapid APKWS integration by performing system analyses and modeling based on its high fidelity, integrated flight simulator.

The APKWS has has its performance demonstrated on both rotary and fixed-wing manned aircraft prior to this effort to integrate it onto a UAV.

Unmanned aircraft can operate in regimes that are considered too hazardous for manned aircraft and dramatically expand the types of missions that can be conducted from surface ships.

The APKWS is a U.S. government program of record. U.S. Marine aviators recently completed the initial operational test and evaluation phase of the APKWS program, firing against stationary and moving targets from AH-1W and UH-1Y helicopters. The APKWS system has since been deployed in Afghanistan and the company continues to ship units to theater for use against insurgent forces.

BAE Systems has been the APKWS prime contractor since 2006. The company is partnered with the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike Program Office at the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command for the development, integration, and delivery of the APKWS.