F/A-18 First to Get Future Aargm Weapon
Aviation Week & Space Technology
11/24/2003, page 46
Robert Wall
Washington
New missile targets deployment on F/A-18s; EA-6B Prowler status in doubt
DEAD On
Eager to see their latest fighter equipped with one of its newest weapons, U.S. Navy planners are calling for integration of the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile on the F/A-18E/F almost in parallel with the aircraft at the core of the missile development program, the F/A-18C/D.
The Pentagon still is trying to sort out exactly which aircraft will employ the in-development anti-radar weapon. Because of the high interest in having F/A-18E/Fs use the missile, the Navy "is planning parallel path integration," says Navy program manager Capt. Mark Converse. The service also will integrate it into its future jammer, the EA-18G "Growler." The F/A-18C/D is serving as the formal launch platform because it was used during a technology demonstration in recent years, making it the lowest risk, lowest cost aircraft on which to integrate Aargm, added Lt. Cdr. Carlos Rippe, who oversees Aargm's development.
Still unresolved is whether the EA-6B Prowler will fire the weapon. The Navy is retiring its Prowlers around the time Aargm will be fielded, although the Marine Corps still plans to use the standoff jammer for several years. Also, the weapon won't be integrated on any U.S. Air Force fighters. Its length--the same as the High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM)--also precludes internal carriage on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, although a motor upgrade being explored by the Navy could shrink the total size, allowing internal fit.
Development of Aargm began this summer after a successful three-year, multi-shot technology demonstration during which the core functions of the Alliant Techsystems-designed enhancements were validated. The two key features are a dual-mode sensor enhancement and the Quick Bolt communi- cations link that allows the weapon to receive from off-board sources signals intelligence cues about a threat and to broadcast its status moments before impact to provide rudimentary battle damage assessment.
The dual-mode sensor integrates a passive radar seeker that has greater frequency coverage than HARM's. Moreover, a millimeter wave seeker is used for terminal guidance to ensure a radar site can be struck even if the radar is shut down. For mid-course guidance, the weapon is equipped with a GPS-aided inertial navigation system to cure HARM's problem of going off course once a targeted emitter is shut down. "You just hoped it stayed in the country you shot it at," says Lt. Cdr. Al Mousseau, a Navy anti-radar weapons officer for the test unit VX-31. The Aargm features should turn HARM from a suppression to a destruction-of-enemy-air-defense (DEAD) weapon, Converse noted.
The enhanced missile will also allow planners to program "keep out" areas into a weapon to ensure it doesn't strike a populated area. It should also curtail friendly fire incidents, a greater possibility now that the U.S. could fight alongside new NATO members who use Soviet-era air defense equipment that is also used by such countries as Iran and North Korea.
Alliant Techsystems received the Aargm system development and demonstration contract in June, and should have brassboard hardware available for flight testing late next year using a King Air. Moreover, Rippe said the Navy will take the millimeter wave seeker to the combined Army and USAF Chicken Little munitions test and evaluation facility where extensive seeker testing can be conducted. The goal is to assess the seeker's performance against various targets to help write discrimination algorithms.
Captive flight testing on the F/A-C/D will begin in 2006. Plans call for 20 firings, starting in 2007. Seven shots will be taken in the development test phase, with two more for the operational assessment and 11 for operational testing to prove system performance before full-rate production. The fundamental performance characteristics of Aargm won't change significantly from the demoed version, although the final product will be "more robust" with the ability to operate over a larger frequency spectrum and against more targets, developers note.
AGM-88Es will use existing HARMs that are no longer needed. The internal changes take place in the nose and control section. The weapon is slated to be in service around late 2009.
The U.S. Navy launched the Aargm system development and demonstration phase earlier this year after a series of flight tests to validate the weapon's performance.Alliant Techsystems representatives are mulling the application of Aargm elements for other purposes, as well. For instance, out-of-service HARMs could be recertified and upgraded with just the millimeter wave sensor, making for a relatively cheap, high-speed air-to-ground weapon, one senior company official said.
Separately, the Navy also is funding Atlantic Research Corp. to develop a variable-flow, ducted rocket ramjet that boosts HARM's range to 100 mi. from about 80 mi. and cruise speed to about Mach 3.5 from Mach 2. The motor used in the Office of Naval Research-sponsored High-Speed Anti-Radiation Demonstration should also shorten the missile's length. First flight testing of the weapon is expected late next year or in early 2005. If successful, the Navy may use the effort as a springboard for a further HARM enhancement, although other options exist such as developing a different type of high-speed weapon.
In parallel, the Navy is continuing to field various software enhancements for HARMs in use in the U.S. and other countries. The focus is on staying abreast with electronic intelligence gathered about an adversary's air defenses. [/b]