30 Nov 11. Raytheon Company has completed captive carry tests of its Small Tactical Munition Phase II configuration, paving the way for flight tests.
“Raytheon developed STM Phase II to provide the warfighter a weapon for Shadow-class UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) and counterinsurgency aircraft,” said Bob Francois, vice president of Advanced Missiles and Unmanned Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems. “STM is a mature, precise and affordable weapon and gives the warfighter flexibility to engage moving and static targets with minimal collateral damage.”
The Sept. 16 test was conducted on a Raytheon Cobra unmanned aircraft system at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz.
30 Nov 11. 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,” said Scott Arnold, vice president of precision fires in Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business. “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.”
This test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., 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 U.S. Army’s Precision Fires Program Office.