06 Apr 10. Lockheed Martin and Aerojet achieved a technological breakthrough by successfully completing full temperature range testing and validation to support a single rocket motor solution for all JAGM fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms. The final completed tests were a series of cold temperature missile motor firings conducted in Camden, AR. The rocket motor was manufactured to a tactical configuration using a composite motor case and conditioned to -65 degrees F, replicating the highly stressful thermal requirements of a fixed-wing launch at altitude. Building upon a series of previous developmental static motor tests at various temperatures, including a prior successful test at -65 degrees F in a heavywall motor case, this test further validates that the Aerojet rocket motor offers a single-motor solution for JAGM’s challenging fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned aerial vehicle requirements. “Given the positive results of this rocket motor test and previous tests, we are confident we can deliver a single missile motor offering for the JAGM program as specified in the Statement of Work,” said Hady Mourad, JAGM program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Our motor has been optimized for employment off fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned aerial vehicles, and it meets or exceeds every key performance parameter including maximum and minimum ranges, minimum-smoke propellant and, as just demonstrated, the hot and cold temperature parameters.” “The JAGM launch environment provides an extremely challenging set of requirements for the rocket motor, using a minimum-smoke propellant over a very large temperature range while also providing the necessary high turn-down ratio (boost to sustain) to power the launch and sustain flight to maximum ranges,” said Aerojet’s vice president for Tactical Programs, John Myers. “Aerojet is pleased to be able to successfully demonstrate these capabilities in support of Lockheed Martin’s single-motor JAGM solution. We look forward to delivering rocket motors for their upcoming flight tests and ultimately to getting this vital new capability into the hands of our nation’s Warfighters as soon as possible.”

07 Apr 10. The Indian Army is looking to provide infantry soldiers with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun (HMG) that can accurately hit targets within a range of 2,000m. The Army intends to mount the 40-kg HMG on Light Strike Vehicles and Infantry Fighting Vehicles, according to dnaindia.com.
The .50 calibre HMG will fire ammunition including firebombs, armour-piercing high explosives and armour-piercing discarding sabot.
The rate of fire will be no less than 450 rounds per minute and it will have sighting systems including optical magnification, open sight and thermal imaging sight. Additional specifications include a fire control system that can be operated manually and electrically along with a spare barrel, which can be changed quickly in field conditions. The weapon is required to have a blast suppressor to reduce blast effects while smoke generated when firing should not overcloud the observation of the operator. The Army expects the weapon to withstand the operational conditions in high-altitude areas, jungles and deserts. (Source: army-technology.com)

31 Mar 10. Lockheed Martin completed a wide-ranging series of tests on the multi-mode seeker for its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) system. JAGM will provide a precision, adverse weather, low-collateral-damage weapon to rotary- and fixed-wing pilots, as well as the unmanned aerial system community. Currently in the technology development phase, JAGM’s tri-mode seeker includes imaging infrared, semi-active laser and millimeter wave radar sensors for precision-strike targeting.
“We’ve successfully demonstrated all of the sensor modes simultaneously and are very pleased with what we’re seeing,” said Rick Edwards, vice president for Tactical Missiles and Combat Maneuver Systems at Lockheed Martin. “Having fully fu