Article Posted on : - May 06, 2010

Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-To-Ground Missile.

ORLANDO (BNS): Lockheed Martin designed Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) system has successfully completed an extensive series of wind tunnel tests for US Navy’s F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet jet fighter.

The test was conducted for more than 200 hours at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

F/A-18E/F fighter has also performed a load flight test for more than 150 hours, from Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC). The data collected during the test flight will be used to meet structural requirements of the launcher and JAGM.

Successful F/A-18 E/F safe launch and separation tests were also conducted at the AEDC facility.

These tests validated the design of Lockheed Martin and Marvin Engineering’s triple-rail JAGM launcher and also confirmed the JAGM's successful inclusion in the aircraft.

“All test objectives were achieved,” reported Frank St. John, Director of Close Combat Systems for Tactical Missiles/Combat Maneuver Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in an official news release, “This moves the Lockheed Martin team one step closer to F/A-18E/F flight tests later this year.”

The JAGM programme has been designed to develop an air-to-surface missile that will replace the AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles, the Maverick missiles and the BGM-71 TOW missiles presently used by the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps.

The new missile system will be deployed in the rotary-wing, fixed-wing and unmanned platforms of the army, navy and marine corps.