Article Posted on : - Oct 27, 2010

The F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft. A Boeing photo

WASHINGTON (BNS): Raytheon-Boeing team has completed flight testing of the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile's fixed-wing launcher and Instrumented Measurement Vehicle on the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft.

The flight tests are a crucial first step toward qualifying JAGM for Super Hornet employment, Raytheon said.

During the tests, the JAGM launcher and IMVs were loaded on the Super Hornet's outboard wing station. The aircraft then flew representative mission profiles that a JAGM-armed Super Hornet might experience during a combat mission.

As a necessary requirement for full envelope qualification, the test subjected the system to the harsh F/A-18 E/F flight environment: transonic speed, extreme cold and extreme vibrations.

An IMV is the same size, shape and mass as an all-up JAGM round, and it contains equipment that evaluates JAGM's performance during a mission.

"The Raytheon-Boeing team designed JAGM for affordability; re-using existing technology and equipment is one way we are driving cost out of the program to provide a best-value solution for the warfighter," said Carl Avila, director of Boeing's Advanced Weapons and Missile Systems.

The JAGM features a fully integrated tri-mode seeker that incorporates semi active laser, uncooled imaging infrared and millimeter wave guidance.

It offers the warfighter improved lethality, range, operational flexibility, supportability and cost savings compared with older, Cold War era weapons like the Hellfire missile, Raytheon said.