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Date Posted: 18-Aug-2004
JANE’S MISSILES AND ROCKETS – SEPTEMBER 01, 2004
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US plans improved missiles to maintain air-to-air supremacy
Doug Richardson
US Air Force (USAF) and US Navy (USN) planners envisage three new air-to-air missiles intended to maintain air-combat supremacy, writes Doug Richardson. Between the fielding of the new Raytheon AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and the end of the decade, the services intend to develop and deploy at least two more AMRAAM variants, while an all-new missile is being studied as an eventual replacement for the AIM-120 series.
Developed under the AMRAAM Pre-Planned Product Improvement (P3I) Phase 3 programme, the AIM-120C-7 configuration retains the same motor and warhead as the current AIM-120C-5 but incorporates new commercial processors, rehosted software and enhancements in the radar signal processing chain intended to provide an increased electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) capability.
The new variant’s anti-jamming performance was demonstrated last year when it shot down two targets protected by jamming. The first shot, conducted over the Eglin Test Range at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, on 19 August 2003, resulted in a ‘kill’ against a full-sized target defended by what Raytheon described as “realistic electronic attack techniques”, while the second was against a subscale target at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on 6 September in the presence of “complex electronic attack techniques”. Both resulted in direct hits.
By using the latest electronics technology, and packaging this on ‘hockey-puck’-shaped printed circuit cards instead of the rectangular cards used in earlier AMRAAMs, Raytheon designers were able to reduced the size of the guidance package, creating 6in (15cm) of free space within the missile fuselage. In the AIM-120C-7, this space is empty – the overall length of the missile is kept the same as that of earlier models by the addition of a spacer.
Deliveries of the AIM-120C-7 are underway and the missile is undergoing operational testing. It is expected to enter service later this year. Formal release to international customers is expected as part of production Lot 20. Contracts could be signed in 2006 for delivery in 2008.
Plans are already being drawn up for an upgraded AIM-120C-7. This will be developed under a three-year Software Upgrade Program (SWUP) expected to end in the second half of 2008. Despite the title of the programme, some hardware improvements are apparently planned. Areas of the missile earmarked for improvement are the seeker, guidance system, onboard processing, ECCM capability and propulsion.
The next version of AMRAAM will be the AIM-120D, the end result of the P3I Phase 4 programme. Raytheon began engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) work on this version in December 2003. EMD is due to run for three years and is expected to end late in 2006.
A joint USAF/USN programme, the AIM-120D will feature revised software, an improved datalink, greater kinematics, and an improved high-angle off-boresight (HOBS) capability. A new and lengthened rocket motor will probably exploit the empty space created by the spacer in the AIM-120C-7 version. Raytheon has studied several advanced powerplants, including an extended-length hydroxyl-terminated polyether (HTPE) solid-propellant dual-pulse rocket motor.
A tightly coupled Global Positioning System (GPS)/inertial measurement unit (IMU) will reduce on-aircraft and in-flight alignment errors, while the new two-way datalink will allow the weapon to transmit information back to the launch aircraft during its journey from the launcher to the target. The datalink on current versions of AMRAAM, including the AIM-120C-7, is receive-only. The two-way datalink will expand the missile’s engagement envelope and support the increased HOBS capability. It will probably allow a third party, such as another fighter, to take control of the missile, allowing the firing aircraft to break away directly after launch.
Two-way datalinks have the potential to increase weapon effectiveness during long-range engagement, since they could allow the missile to pass information on target characteristics and target behaviour to the launch platform as the engagement proceeds. They are planned for other weapons, including the MBDA Meteor air-to-air missile and the Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) version of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air missile.
Captive flight trials of the AIM-120D are expected to begin in late 2004 or early 2005, followed a year later by first guided firings. Operational testing will begin soon afterwards and is expected to last for about nine months.
Production will probably begin in 2007 and will overlap with that of the AIM-120C, which is expected to continue until around 2010. The original schedule called for the AIM-120D to achieve initial operating capability in late 2007 but this date may slip to 2008.
For the longer term, the USAF and USN are already looking at an all-new missile that could eventually replace the AMRAAM. The Joint Dual Role Air Dominance Missile (JDRADM) would be a single design suitable for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. Intended for use on the F/A-22 Raptor, F-35 Joint Strike fighter, legacy fighters, and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV), it is expected to offer enhanced propulsion, agility, and lethality, allowing engagements at longer stand-off ranges. The project is still at a very early stage. Studies of potential capabilities and platform integration have already begun, and work is underway on the development analysis process.
JDRADM could be an application for the US/UK Programmable Integrated Ordnance Suite (PIOS) project. Intended to maximise the lethality of missiles against targets ranging from bombers and fighters to low-observable cruise missiles and small agile UCAVs, this programme is exploring concepts such as directional warheads and imaging infrared fuzing.
The scheme relies on aimpoint selection, with an adaptive-response warhead producing a unique fragment swath for each engagement, centring the fragment pattern about the target. These techniques could give a uniformly high kill probability across the full target set during all-aspect attacks and in all clutter environments.
In November 2000, Raytheon was awarded a US$14 million contract for Phase II of the programme. Known as PIOS II, this was jointly funded by the USAF Research Laboratory and the UK Ministry of Defence. Subcontractors include Alliant Techsystems, BAE Systems Avionics, Royal Ordnance Defence, and Thales Missile Electronics (formerly Thomson-Thorn Missile Electronics).
The 49-month programme covers work on subsystems such as a directional warhead with ‘swath agility’ in azimuthal and polar directions, and a suitable target detection device. It is investigating whether the technology is scalable for use in smaller airframes, and includes an advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) that will include a series of live-fire warhead tests.
Related Article:
Raytheon breeds a better AMRAAM
Carriers playing with a full deck
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By: SteveO - 20th August 2004 at 21:15
For the longer term, the USAF and USN are already looking at an all-new missile that could eventually replace the AMRAAM. The Joint Dual Role Air Dominance Missile (JDRADM) would be a single design suitable for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. Intended for use on the F/A-22 Raptor, F-35 Joint Strike fighter, legacy fighters, and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV), it is expected to offer enhanced propulsion, agility, and lethality, allowing engagements at longer stand-off ranges. The project is still at a very early stage. Studies of potential capabilities and platform integration have already begun, and work is underway on the development analysis process.
This sounds like what I was talking about in the MULTI-ROLE METEOR thread.http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=29303
By: bring_it_on - 20th August 2004 at 07:28
that was the fraam…something that was supposed to be 80% of the capability of the meteor but about 1/2 the risk and developmental cost…it was not chosen by the european consortium therefore it just faded away..but it should be completely different from the ramjet powered a2a missiles that are being sought for by the pentagon..we have talked about this a lot on this website and on acig..the aim-120 is going through many improved versions the latest of which will have greater range , NEZ and a better seeker..there are also some contracts that have been awarded to aerojet regarding ramjet missiles specifically for a2a missiles..
The AMRAAM P3I (Pre-Planned Product Improvement) program led to the AIM-120C, first delivered in 1996. The major new feature of the basic AIM-120C (P3I Phase 1) are the clipped wings and fins. Although this feature was introduced to allow carriage in the internal weapons bays of the F/A-22 Raptor, the -120C can also be used from other AMRAAM-capable aircraft. The guidance unit of the AIM-120C is upgraded to WGU-44/B standard. The first P3I Phase 2 missile is the AIM-120C-4 (first delivered in 1999), which has an improved WDU-41/B warhead. The AIM-120C-5 is a C-4 with a slightly larger motor in the new WPU-16/B propulsion section and a new shorter WCU-28/B control section with compressed electronics and ECCM upgrades. Deliveries of the AIM-120C-5 began in July 2000. The current production version of AMRAAM is the AIM-120C-6, which features an updated TDD (Target Detection Device). The AIM-120C-7 (P3I Phase 3), development of which has begun in 1998, incorporates improved ECCM with jamming detection, an upgraded seeker, and longer range. The latter feature was specifically requested by the U.S. Navy to get a (somewhat) suitable replacement for the AIM-54 Phoenix very-long range missile, which will be retired together with the F-14D Tomcat around 2007. The AIM-120C-7 was successfully tested against combat-realistic targets in August and September 2003, and IOC is currently planned for 2004. Equivalent to the -120A/B, there are also CATM-120C and JAIM-120C non-tactical variants of the AIM-120C. The designation AIM-120D refers to a projected version with a two-way data link, more accurate navigation, an expanded no-escape envelope and a 50% increase in range. The AIM-120D is a joint USAF/USN project, and current plans call for an IOC on the F/A-18E/F in FY2008. “”””””””
Aerojet Awarded Air Force Research Laboratory Ramjet Development Contract
Source: Aerojet; issued Jan. 22, 2004)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Aerojet, a GenCorp Inc. company, through its recently announced acquisition of the assets of Atlantic Research Corporation’s propulsion business (ARC Propulsion) was named by Raytheon Missile Systems to be the propulsion supplier for the Variable Flow Ducted Rocket (VFDR) Flight Vehicle Concepts program. Raytheon is the prime contractor on the program for the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate Flight Vehicle Integration Branch. The first phase of the contract will operate for approximately one year.
Under the VFDR program, Aerojet will develop a preliminary design for a flight test vehicle with a propulsion system designed specifically for air-to-air tactical missile applications. Additionally, adaptations of the VFDR technology will be evaluated for other potential tactical missile applications.
ARC Propulsion conducted a flight weight ground test of the VFDR engine in 1997, completing more than 20 years of design and development work by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate. The successful flight weight ground test demonstrated the technology was ready for flight testing. Now, Aerojet is teamed with Raytheon to apply the previous development work to the VFDR Flight Vehicle Concepts program, and potentially to future Air Force missile requirements.
According to Aerojet’s Manager of Airbreathing Systems, Pat Hewitt, early — and ongoing — investments in ramjet technology for air-to-air tactical missile applications were crucial components in the selection of Raytheon to work on the VFDR propulsion system. “Our steadfast commitment to ramjet technology development has kept this propulsion option open for military applications, and significant progress in recent years has demonstrated the potential for use in programs such as VFDR,” Hewitt said.
The VFDR ramjet uses a solid propellant to provide hot fuel-rich gas as the ramjet fuel, and a valve is used to control the fuel flow rate and engine thrust during flight. Other ongoing ramjet work at Aerojet include the MARC-R282 variable flow ducted rocket ramjet engine developed for the U.S. Navy’s GQM-163A Coyote missile target system, and the MARC-R290 VFDR ramjet for the Navy’s High Speed Anti-radiation Missile Demonstration program.
“We are extremely pleased with the opportunity to work on the VFDR program with Raytheon and the Air Force Research Laboratory,” said Rick Yezzi, Aerojet Vice President of Business Development, Tactical Systems. “This is a great opportunity to build on more than 20 years of work together with the Air Force and Raytheon toward the VFDR Flight Vehicle concepts goals.”
Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, and defense and armaments markets. GenCorp Inc. is a multi-national, technology-based manufacturer with leading positions in the automotive, aerospace, defense and pharmaceutical fine chemicals industries
this is some of the info i had posted on this matter
By: SOC - 20th August 2004 at 02:30
No, there was talk of a ramjet-AMRAAM a while back. I believe it was offered to Europe under the BVRAAM requirement METEOR was selected for. Plus, there were rumors of ramjet-AMRAAMs being tested in combat over Iraq as far back as 1991.
By: google - 20th August 2004 at 02:29
Whatever happened to the ramjet-AMRAAM?
You’re not confusing that with the ramjet R-77 are you?
By: SOC - 20th August 2004 at 02:27
Whatever happened to the ramjet-AMRAAM?
By: GDL - 19th August 2004 at 22:24
Thanks Google! We really do appreciate this stuff from Janes. 🙂
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August 19, 2004 at 9:10 pm