Article Posted on : - Sep 23, 2011

An artist rendering of the Zumwalt class destroyer DDG 1000, a new class of multi-mission US Navy surface combatant ship. Photo: US Navy

Brahmand News Service

WHITE SANDS (BNS): US Navy on Thursday announced the successful test of long range land attack projectile (LRLAP), designed for the DDG 1000 Advanced Gun System,.

LRLAP has completed two live-fire tests at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The mission, which was conducted on August 30, was the first live-fire test to successfully demonstrate LRLAP effectiveness against targets.

LRLAP is a 155 millimeter rocket-assisted guided projectile designed to support land-attack and naval surface fire support operations in conjunction with the Advanced Gun System on DDG 1000-class destroyers.

"This test success represents a key milestone in development of the land-attack capability and represents a significant step in the tactical maturation of the LRLAP," Capt. Tim Batzler, Navy Surface Ship Weapons major program manager for Program Executive Office, Integrated Warfare Systems, said in the Nay website.

Both flight tests flew 45 nautical miles and met key test objectives including successful launch, GPS acquisition, warhead functionality, and terminal accuracy.

Live-fire testing is part of land-based flight qualification during the engineering and manufacturing development phase.