Article Posted on : - Dec 01, 2011

DALLAS (BNS): Lockheed Martin tested a new Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System-Plus (GMLRS+) 'scalable effects' warhead, which enables users to select the range of the warhead's detonation power depending on the target.

"The 'scalable effects' warhead was set to low-yield prior to the flight and scored a direct hit on the target, and the performance of both the GMLRS+ rocket and the scalable effects warhead were outstanding, validating our continued investment in evolving the proven GMLRS weapon system to address current and future threats," Scott Arnold, vice president of precision fires in Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control business, said in a statement.

This test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, was the second of two GMLRS+ launches scheduled for 2011.

In early August, a GMLRS+ round successfully completed a 120-kilometer mission, an improvement in range of approximately 50 kilometers over the current GMLRS round.

Both tests were internally funded by Lockheed Martin and Aerojet and were supported by the US Army's Precision Fires Program Office.

GMLRS+ is a Lockheed Martin internal research and development programme to upgrade the combat-proven GMLRS Unitary system, and integrate new capabilities into the existing GMLRS guidance/navigation package and airframe.

It will accommodate various warheads, and will operate seamlessly within the current High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and MLRS M270A1 launcher force structure.