Lockheed Martin to build air-to-ground missiles with multi-mode guidance for crewed and uncrewed aircraft
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – Missile experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. will build advanced air-to-ground missiles for uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and manned attack helicopters under terms of a $42 million order announced in September.
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 AGM-114 laser-guided Hellfire II missiles and the AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM).
The AGM-114R is the latest Hellfire II variant, and is equipped with semi–active laser seekers to defeat many kinds of targets. The AGM-114R can be launched from several different kinds of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, surface ships, and military ground vehicles.
The JAGM is to replace U.S. Army and Navy inventories of Airborne TOW, Maverick, and Hellfire air-to-ground missiles.
Lockheed Martin is developing the JAGM for launch from the Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), the Navy MH-60R helicopter, and the Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter.
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. The small missile is nearly six feet long, seven inches in diameter, and weighs 108 pounds.
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 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 AGM-114 Hellfire II, meanwhile, is laser-guided, and can be launched from manned and uncrewed aircraft, surface ships, and military ground vehicles.
Hellfire II also is the missile of choice for several kinds of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the MQ-1B Predator, MQ-9 Reaper, and MQ-1C Grey Eagle. Eventually these missiles may arm U.S. military uncrewed helicopters.
The Hellfire II weighs 106 pounds, and has high-explosive variants designed to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles, and blast fragmentation versions designed to destroy trucks, antenna sites, concentrations of enemy troops, and other soft targets.
The AGM-114R Hellfire II missile uses a semi-active laser guidance system and an integrated blast fragmentation sleeve warhead to engage targets that previously needed several Hellfire variants to destroy.
These missiles can seek out their targets autonomously or with designation from remote laser designators. The missile has a three–axis inertial measurement unit to enable it to attack targets from the side and behind.
The AGM-114R can be launched from higher altitudes than previous variants because of its enhanced guidance and navigation capabilities. With its multi–purpose warhead, the missile can destroy hard, soft, and enclosed targets.
Originally developed as an anti-tank missile for the Army's AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the Hellfire homes-in on the reflected light of a laser designator. Other versions of the Hellfire are radar-guided fire-and-forget weapons.
Development of the AGM-114R Hellfire missile became necessary after the Pentagon cancelled the Joint Common Missile (JCM) project, which was to replace Hellfire, as well as the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile.
On this order Lockheed Martin will do the work in Orlando, Fla., and should be finished by September 2027. Fore more information contact Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control online at www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/who-we-are/business-areas/missiles-and-fire-control.html, or the Army Contracting Command-Redstone at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-rsa/.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
