Date Posted: 09-Jun-2004
INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE REVIEW – JULY 01, 2004
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Lockheed Martin to develop Joint Common Missile
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control will conduct system development and demonstration of the Joint Common Missile (JCM) under an initial contract worth US$53 million for a 14-month risk-reduction phase, to be followed by three years of testing and integration. The total value of the effort, including production, could reach US$5 billion. The unsuccessful bidders were Raytheon and a Boeing/Northrop Grumman team.
The US Army, US Navy and US Marine Corps together plan to buy up to 54,000 rounds to replace the Maverick and Hellfire air-to-surface weapons. Launch platforms will include the AH-64D Apache Longbow, AH-1Z SuperCobra and MH-60R Strikehawk helicopters, together with F/A-18 fighters. Initial operational capability aboard the AH-64D and early operational capability (EOC) on the AH-1Z are scheduled for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09), with EOC for the F/A-18E/F and the MH-60Rs, supporting naval special forces, following in FY10. Production is planned to continue until FY18. The UK Ministry of Defence has also expressed potential interest in co-developing and producing the new weapon.
The JCM weighs 49kg (the same as the Longbow Hellfire), but has at least twice the range. The required maximum is 28km when launched by fixed-wing aircraft and 16km for helicopters, which Lockheed Martin says it will exceed. The round’s diameter grew from 15.2cm to 17.8cm when the US Army elected not to arm ground vehicles with the weapon.
The single Aerojet solid-propellant rocket motor with a casing of composite materials, which contains a cast propellant fill provided by Roxel UK (formerly the Rocket Motors Division of BAE Systems RO), has a ‘turn-down’ ratio (boost thrust to sustain thrust) of nearly 20:1 (about three times that achieved by competing designs). This imparts a high initial velocity, therefore reducing the overall time of flight. The minimum-smoke propellant meets insensitive-munitions requirements.
The JCM carries a tri-mode seeker that combines semi-active laser, imaging infrared and millimeter-wave (MMW) radar sensors. The pilot can select the desired mode, or all three can operate simultaneously. Lockheed Martin claims that the MMW portion costs only about one-tenth as much as the seeker in Longbow Hellfire, thanks to the use of new technology – including items adapted from the cellphone industry – and an emphasis on cost reduction.
The multipurpose warhead, being developed by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, incorporates a shaped charge to defeat advanced armored threats. A complementary blast-fragmentation capability is incorporated for use against ships, buildings, bunkers and other similar targets. A precursor warhead provides initial penetration, followed by time-delayed detonation of the main charge. Threats to be addressed by the JCM vary from the product-improved PIP 1 version of the Russian-developed T-90 main battle tank to patrol boats and fortified targets encountered during military operations in urban terrain (MOUT). Lockheed Martin has worked with Perkin-Elmer to modify the electronic safety, arming and fuzing (ESAF) package from the Javelin anti-tank missile, which can be programmed before a mission according to the threat, to enhance its effectiveness against MOUT targets.
The US Army plans to equip its Apache attack helicopters with 16 rounds, using the existing M299 launcher employed with later versions of the Hellfire family. The threshold requirement for F/A-18s is eight missiles, with an objective of 12, although Lockheed Martin says that the aircraft could accommodate 16.
During company-funded trials at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (China Lake, California) in March 2004, Lockheed Martin and EDO conducted additional JCM launcher and missile integration tests on the F/A-18E/F and F/A-18C/D fighters. In the first demonstration, two Joint Dual Rail Launchers (JDRLs) were mounted directly to wing carriage stations, with two JCMs uploaded to each. In the second demonstration, two JDRLs were mounted to a BRU-55 bomb rack, allowing four JCMs to be uploaded on a single wing station.
(Source: Lockheed Martin) via jdw
The JCM’s tri-mode (semi-active laser/imaging infrared/millimeter-wave radar) seeker (left) can employ any of the modes independently, or fuse them into a composite picture (above).
(Source: Lockheed Martin) via jdw
The JCM’s tri-mode (semi-active laser/imaging infrared/millimeter-wave radar) seeker (left) can employ any of the modes independently, or fuse them into a composite picture (above).
(Source: Lockheed Martin) via jdw
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