LOCKHEED MARTIN'S JOINT COMMON MISSILE FLIES ON AH-64D APACHE LONGBOW
ORLANDO, FL, September 6, 2005
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has successfully integrated and flown the Joint
Common Missile instrumented measurement vehicles (IMVs) on the Boeing AH-64D
Apache Longbow attack helicopter, validating the physical and environmental
interface between the missile, the M299 missile launcher and the helicopter
platform.
The IMV is outfitted with sensors and instrumentation to record the environments
the missile must operate under during flights. It contains an inert warhead and
rocket motor to simulate a tactical round in flight.
"Successful measurement of the environments that the JCM will experience on
its target platforms during pre-launch and launch operations is an important
step in successful integration," said Steve Barnoske, JCM program director
at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "JCM provides extended
standoff range for all four platforms that will maximize crew
survivability."
Successful integration of the JCM IMVs, the combat-proven all-digital M299
launcher, and the AH-64D, characterized the vibration, shock, pressure
(acoustic) and temperature environments that JCM will experience, and proved the
airworthiness of the JCM.
The environmental flights on the Apache are the first in a series of such
integration and flight tests that will integrate JCM on the four required
platforms for the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The remaining collection of
environmental data - on the Marines'AH-1Z Super Cobra attack helicopter, the
Navy's MH-60R/S Seahawk armed reconnaissance helicopter and the Navy's F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet jet fighter - will be conducted during the remainder of 2005.
"Following a successful preliminary design review and first flight back in
June, we will be continuing our development, including validating the
integration environments on all four required platforms over the next few
months. Successful integration on these platforms is key to deriving the cost
benefits of having one missile replace seven missiles on four platforms,"
said Rick Edwards, vice president for Tactical Missiles at Lockheed Martin
Missiles and Fire Control.
JCM's tri-mode seeker and multi-purpose warhead will enable it to defeat a wider
target set in a single mission on all four platforms than is currently
possible," Barnoske explained. "It will also triple the loadout on the
Super Hornet - 12 JCMs replace four Mavericks and provide safe 'bring back' of
unexpended weapons in carrier landings."
Lockheed Martin also supplies the M299 launcher to the Army for the Apache,
which has carried and fired HELLFIRE II and Longbow HELLFIRE missiles in Iraq.
JCM's aerodynamics are similar to those of HELLFIRE on Apache. Marvin
Engineering of Inglewood, CA, provides the M299 hardware; the software is
produced by Lockheed Martin at its facility in Ocala, FL.
The other two rotary-wing platforms, the Super Cobra and the Seahawk, will carry
JCM on the M59 launcher, which is a minor modification to the M299, and is
produced by Lockheed Martin and Marvin Engineering
The JCM launcher on the Super Hornet will be the LAU-145/A dual-rail launcher,
supplied by EDO Corporation (NYSE: EDO) of North Amityville, NY. The launcher
and JCM models have been fit-checked and uploaded to the aircraft, and
successful wind tunnel tests have been conducted. The LAU-145/A includes a
pneumatic cooling system to provide JCM sensor cooling for the fixed-wing
aircraft, and takes advantage of the existing J-Weapon interfaces on the Hornet.
The only weapon designed to meet eight validated critical capability gaps for
the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, JCM provides fixed- and rotary-wing pilots with
a precision-strike, adverse-weather, weapon that can defeat a wide range of
stationary and moving targets with minimal collateral damage -- a capability
that doesn't exist today.
JCM is the next-generation, multi-purpose, air-to-ground precision missile that
will replace the HELLFIRE, Longbow and Maverick air-to-ground missiles currently
in the arsenal of the U.S. Army and Navy. To deliver the multi-purpose warhead
to its target, the Lockheed Martin JCM includes a
tri-mode seeker with imaging infrared, semi-active laser and millimeter wave
radar capabilities for active and passive "fire-and-forget" and
precision-strike targeting.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people
worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and
services. The corporation reported 2004 sales of $35.5 billion.
