A Maryland-based defense giant could boost the U.S. Navy’s combat power with its latest innovative weapon integration. Lockheed Martin is working on advancing its combatant Counter Unmanned All Domain Systems (C-UxS) capabilities.
The firm is combining the reliability and lethality of the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) when engaging air, maritime, and land threats, with the modular and rapid reload capable JAGM Quad Launcher (JQL) prototype. This can help Lockheed Martin to improve the multi-mission defensive capabilities of all naval vessels.
The company has also planned a demonstration to validate the JQL’s design and performance while employing a JAGM to engage a representative threat Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).
Reloadability feature critical for naval users
The plan is to showcase the JQL reloadability feature, which is a critical capability for naval users.
“Building upon the legacy of the tried-and-true LONGBOW missile, the next-generation deterrence option for naval precision-guided capability is JAGM,” said Joey Drake, Lockheed Martin Multi-Domain Missile Systems Program Director.
“It’s ability to provide multi-domain defensive, as well as offensive fires, positions it perfectly to be integrated into a variety of Naval surface platforms, in addition to its versatility allowing for integration onto any number of additional joint land, air and maritime platforms.”
The natural successor to the out-of-production LONGBOW HELLFIRE variant, JAGM offers a very broad target set.
Despite being out of production, the LONGBOW HELLFIRE variant is still employed by U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) — providing an in-production/in-service, follow-on, and affordable option.
Lockheed claims that, unlike LONGBOW’s single-mode millimeter wave (MMW) seeker, JAGM provides an operator-selectable, dual-mode seeker.
JAGM offers enhanced capability against air, maritime, and land threats
JAGM’s multi-mode seeker affords enhanced capability against air, maritime, and land threats employing various countermeasures while also providing improved performance when operating in adverse meteorological conditions. In full rate production, JAGM is built on active production lines that have already produced 145,000 HELLFIRE, LONGBOW and now JAGM missiles, according to a press release.
“With more than one thousand JAGM’s already delivered to the U.S. Navy for employment from USMC AH-1Z attack helicopters, already certified by the Navy for shipboard storage and employment, it makes sense to expand the operational footprint of JAGM to include self-defense of Navy surface ships,” said Chris Abt, Lockheed Martin Advanced Concepts Director.
“In so doing, you enhance affordability to all users, increase utility across the U.S. Navy, and improve logistics support across all Naval forces.”
Tested against maritime surface threat platforms
Validated and tested against maritime surface threat platforms, inclusive of unmanned surface vessels, Lockheed has claimed that the JAGM’s performance against these emergent targets has been proven.
Lockheed also maintains that ongoing software upgrades to the missile will further enhance JAGM’s capability to pace threats including UAS platforms engaging naval forces.
“Whether employed from the current LCS surface-to-surface missile module (SSMM) launcher or Lockheed Martin’s revolutionary new, modular, reloadable, JAGM Quad Launcher (JQL), JAGM’s multi-domain target engagement capabilities provide requisite utility to our maritime forces,” said Lockheed in a statement.
