21 June 22. Rita Flaherty, vice president of strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. Gave an update on a number of key Lockheed Martin missile systems during Eurosatory.
GMLRS/HIMARS
Current GMLRS users include the US, UK, Germany, France, Greece, Turkey, Norway and Italy. The UK MoD placed an upgrade contract in June for its fleet of GMLRS M270 fleet to include: software update to allow better precision targeting, insensitive munition and cluster munition upgrade. Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $32,979,835 modification (P00034) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0077 to recapitalize the Multiple Launch Rocket System into the M270A2 configuration. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas; New Boston, Texas; and Camden, Arkansas, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2026. Fiscal 2022 Foreign Military Sales (United Kingdom) funds in the amount of $32,979,835 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. HIMARS has reently been supplied to Ukraine with Poland issuing a request for systems.
The MLRS Family of Munitions (MFOM) includes a variety of precision-strike rockets and missiles, with on-going evolutionary development to meet the needs of the warfighter. These combat-proven low-cost, low-risk rounds greatly reduce collateral damage and provide tremendous capability and flexibility in addressing today’s threats.
Guided MLRS Specifics:
* Persistent, responsive, all-weather, rapidly-deployable, long-range, surface-to-surface, precision-strike capability
* Fired from both the MLRS M270 family of launchers and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers
* 6 Guided MLRS rockets per launch pod, with 2 pods carried by the M270 launchers and 1 pod carried by the HIMARS launchers
* More than 40,000 Guided MLRS rockets produced to date and climbing
* Guided MLRS rockets have a reliability rating exceeding 98 percent
* An Extended-Range Guided MLRS rocket is in development
Current Guided MLRS variants include:
Guided MLRS Unitary: The combat-proven Guided MLRS Unitary round integrates a 200-pound unitary warhead, providing precision strike for point targets. The Unitary variant has a range exceeding 70 kilometers.
Guided MLRS Alternative Warhead (AW): The Guided MLRS AW round was the first munition developed to service area targets without the effects of unexploded ordnance, complying with the U.S. Department of Defense cluster munitions policy and international policies. The AW variant has a range exceeding 70 kilometers and delivers a 200-pound class fragmenting warhead.
Extended-Range (ER) Guided MLRS: A new developmental variation of the Guided MLRS family, ER GMLRS offers an extended range out to 150 kilometers in all weather conditions. ER GMLRS shares significant commonality with legacy Guided MLRS, and is deployable by HIMARS and the MLRS M270 family of launchers. The rounds incorporate a larger motor and have enhanced maneuverability due to tail-driven control.
PrSM
The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is Lockheed Martin’s next-generation, long-range precision-strike missile designed for the U.S. Army’s PrSM program. This new surface-to-surface weapon system will deliver enhanced capabilities to attack, neutralize, suppress and destroy targets using missile-delivered indirect fires out to 499+ kilometers. PrSM provides the Joint Force Commander with increased range, lethality, survivability and missile load out. These enhanced capabilities are critical to the successful execution of Fires in support of Multi-Domain Operations.
Lockheed Martin’s PrSM missile contains an insensitive munition (IM) propulsion system and IM energetic payload capable of defeating the PrSM target set. It also features an open systems architecture design for maximum affordability and flexibility, is modular for future growth and HIMARS and M270 compatible.
Lockheed Martin PrSM Specifics:
* Two PrSM rounds per launch pod
* Ranges from 60 to 499 kilometers
* Based upon Lockheed Martin’s decades of unparalleled experience in Precision Fires rockets and missiles
* Open systems architecture
* Modular and easily expandable
* IM energetic payload
* Compatible with both MLRS M270 and HIMARS family of launchers
On October 14, 2021, Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) completed its longest flight to date, exceeding maximum threshold, with the U.S. Army yesterday at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB), California. This marks the fifth consecutive successful flight test for the missile. Firing from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launcher, the PrSM flew an extended range mission over the Pacific Ocean. The success comes on the heels of two U.S. Army contract awards issued in September 2021 for Early Operational Capability (EOC) production and Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) advancing the missile to the next phase of the PrSM program.
Lockheed Martin is working alongside the U.S. Army to optimize this next-gen system for the future – in everything from production to enhanced capabilities. Implementing digital tools such as augmented reality, advanced modeling and sim, machine learning/data analytics, and software factory to streamline efforts has helped accelerate PrSM’s development program with speed, agility and efficiency.
The flight is the second of three demonstrations taking place this year as part of the Enhanced Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (ETMRR) phase of the development program. The next flight is scheduled this fall as part of the U.S. Army’s Project Convergence 21. The test missile was produced at Lockheed Martin’s new Long Range Precision Fires facility in Camden, Arkansas. This facility is a part of a $142 million investment to expand and enhance Lockheed Martin’s Precision Fires center of excellence. All missile and pod integration efforts will now be occurring in this adaptable, future-focused facility that is prepared to evolve with future warfighter needs.
The next development is the extended range version of PrSM which will have a range of up to 1000km with an airbreathing motor. Australia joined the PsSM project in 2021, with the signature of an MoU.
JAGM
Lockheed Martin is developing the JAGM for launch from the Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Navy MH-60R helicopter, and the Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter. In addition a recent development is for an MSHORAD variant of JAGM. 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. 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.
Rita Flaherty also said that Lockheed is responding to a US Army request to replace the Stinger missile.