Last month, bidders submitted proposals for the U.S. joint air-to-ground missile (JAGM) and they now await a contract award for a 27-month risk-reduction phase. That announcement is expected in August or September, with two teams being selected to demonstrate their technologies, including live-firing. The down-select from this competition is expected in late 2010 or early 2011, kicking off a development phase leading to service entry in 2016.
Led by the U.S. Army, the JAGM is a single weapon solution to replace air-launched TOW, Hellfire and Maverick missiles across the Army, Marine Corps and Navy. The JAGM will initially be carried by the following rotary- and fixed-wing platforms:
Boeing’s AH-64 Apache Longbow, Bell’s ARH-70 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, Sikorsky’s MH-60R Seahawk, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Bell AH-1Z SuperCobra and the General Atomics MQ-1C Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle.
The JAGM is a follow-on to the joint common missile program, a Lockheed Martin project that was terminated, although the requirement for a beyond line-of-sight/extended range (BLOS/ER) missile has remained. In June 2007, a draft request for JAGM proposals was issued to industry.
