Down Range

Conducted at teammate Alliant Techsystems’ (ATK) facility in Elkton, Md., the test represented the first static firing test of the flight configuration nozzle. Raytheon Co. oversaw the test as the team’s lead for interceptor development.

The successful milestone placed the industry team on track for the program’s first booster flight test in 2009, said a Northrop Grumman statement.

Designed and built by ATK, the second stage rocket motor burned successfully to completion and met all test objectives. Initial results from the test matched expectations for mechanical and ballistic performance.

“The ground test was performed under cold temperatures to simulate rocket motor performance in one of several possible launch environments. The test also provided further performance validation of the motor’s case structure, ballistics, nozzle and thrust vector control,” said Trina Patterson, senior relations manager, ATK Launch Systems.

She also outlined upcoming test milestones. A first stage static fire will take place at ATK’s Promontory facility before the end of the year. This test will also be performed under cold conditions to validate how the first stage motor responds to that environment. Three more ground tests will be performed next year leading up to a booster flight.

Bob Bishop: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Trina Patterson: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

15 kW High-Power, Solid-State Laser Delivered

Northrop Grumman Corp. delivered a compact, stand-alone, 15 kW high-power, solid-state laser developed for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.

Called Vesta II, the laser was a sole source add-on to the Joint High Power Solid State Laser ( JHPSSL) program contract and leverages Northrop Grumman’s scalable technology architecture.

The transportable, push-button laser is a reproducible product that takes advantage of compactness to broaden the potential range of uses by military services. The reduced size, long run time, and high beam quality and power level allow for a wide range of use, compared with other military lasers being developed. The modular design enables manufacturing repeatability at Northrop Grumman’s laser factory, in turn enhancing reliability and affordability.

The U.S. military has set a power level goal of 100 kW to shoot down rockets, missiles, artillery and mortars, by comparison.

Bob Bishop: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Successful AIM-9X Block II Test

A U.S. Air Force F-15C completed the first captive carry test of Raytheon Co.’s AIM-9X Block II air-to-air missile. The infrared-guided AIM-9X Block II missile faced the same stressors— wind, vibration and altitude—that it would encounter during an operational mission. The test demonstrated that the AIM-9X Block II hardware and software could perform in combat-like conditions. The test also proved the missile could be successfully integrated on the F-15C Eagle.

“The U.S. government-Raytheon team expects to conclude developmental test efforts by the spring of 2009, leading to a decision to initiate Block II production in Lot 9 in the 2010–11 time frame,” said J.R. Smith, Raytheon Missile Systems Air to Air Business Development program manager. He added, “Following a production decision in the spring of 2009, we plan to commence production in 2010–2011. IOC is anticipated for late 2010/early 2011.” Smith briefly explained the not-sosubtle differences between the missile’s block I and II variants. AIM-9X Block I was a revolutionary upgrade. It took the back end of the legacy AIM-9M missile, added an improved seeker with very high off-boresight capability, and thrust vectoring, which dramatically increased maneuverability. It also added a fifth generation seeker with digital processing, making it easy to make changes to the guidance unit’s routines via software modifications. “Block II builds on the Block I capabilities with upgraded guidance unit processing and a redesigned fuse,” he pointed out. “The new fuse is smaller; this frees up space in the missile, which enables us to put a one-way datalink into the weapon. The datalink facilitates lock-on-after launch. Now, a pilot can fire without the missile having acquired the target on the rail; the missile is cued to find its target by datalink after launch. This gives the pilot the flexibility to use the AIM-9X in a variety of scenarios previously unavailable, including in a beyondvisual range [i.e., radar] engagement,” he emphasized. The primary limitation has become missile kinematics.

Mike Nachshen: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tactical Satellite-3 Mission Update

Tactical Satellite-3’s orignally scheduled October launch, has been rescheduled to January 2009. The mission is set to demonstrate rapid data collection and transmission to the combatant commander in the theater of interest. During Tactical Satellite-3’s upcoming flight, a new capability of employing a hyperspectral imager with a space-based, onboard processor to obtain and send images within minutes to the warfighter on the ground will be tested. Raytheon constructed the Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer, or ARTEMIS, hyperspectral imager.

Designated as the satellite’s main demonstration, the ARTEMIS hyperspectral imager payload will provide target detection and identification information, as well as battlefield preparation and combat assessment data, within 10 minutes of its collection.

“TacSat-3/ARTEMIS is planned as a one year science and technology demonstration. After initial checkout of the satellite and re-calibration of the payload, a validation phase will be conducted to verify the accuracy of the hyperspectral payload using ground sites at military installations in Arizona and Florida,” Thom Davis, TacSat-3 program manager, Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate told MSMF. “We will then conduct tactical experiments with the Army Space and Missiles Defense Battle Laboratory in Colorado Springs, Colo., to demonstrate the ability to task the satellite direct from a simulated battlefield, take the image, process the image, and downlink the data directly to the warfighter,” he added.

Davis pointed out the TacSat-3 team plans to participate in selected military exercises if timing is appropriate. “The Operationally Responsive Space Office at Kirtland Air Force Base is leading the Joint Military Utility Assessment of the TacSat-3 experiments. If there is any additional capability of the satellite following the one year of experiments, the satellite operations will potentially be transitioned to Air Force Space Command. A joint team has been formed to address this contingency and issues,” concluded Davis.

A second payload—the Office of Naval Research’s satellite communications package —will employ sea-based buoys as data sites. The Satellite Communications Package experiment will collect information from the ocean equipment and transmit it to a ground station as another communicative tool to enhance the warfighter’s ability to stay ahead of an adversary.

The satellite’s third payload—Air Force Research Laboratory’s space avionics experiment— will involve plug-and-play avionics, which features reprogrammable parts to link the payload and the satellite structure. The TacSat-3 program is a joint effort of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Air Force Space Command, the Department of Defense’s Operationally Responsive Space Office, the Office of Naval Research, and AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland AFB.

Michael Kleiman: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

JAGM Teams Form Up

The DoD is eyeing the embryonic Joint Air-to- Ground Missile (JAGM) to engage heavy armor, buildings, bunkers and an array of threats on the future battlefield. JAGM will be fired from rotary, fixed wing and UAS platforms including F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Apache AH-64D. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin-led teams are competing under 27-month, Phase I contracts awarded for selection to build JAGM. “The government will issue a request for proposal around month 20 for an SDD program—a full-development program,” said Rick Edwards, vice president, Tactical Missiles/ Combat Maneuver Systems, Lockheed Martin. Initial operational capability is 2016 for Apache and 2018 for the fixed wing users.

JAGM will represent a quantum improvement in U.S. and coalition partners’ warfighting capabilities. First, “it will reduce the logistics tail in that it will replace three or four other systems. From a warfighters’ perspective he will only have one missile he will have to carry,” Mike Riley, senior manager, business development, advanced programs, Raytheon Missile Systems, told MSMF. Riley added, “Second, it gives him a capability beyond line-of-sight targeting that he didn’t have before, because now you are going from an eight-kilometers Hellfire, to 16 km. from a rotary aircraft and 28 km. from a fixed wing aircraft. The third thing is the tri-mode seeker—so now you really have an all-weather capability with the semi-active laser, the millimeter wave for moving targets in adverse weather, and the imaging infrared.”

The major technology hurdle for JAGM is expected to be the rocket motor given the range of operational envelope for the missile (about 40,000-feet ceiling for a Super Hornet) and the external temperatures at that altitude and at sea level. “This is a pretty dynamic spread and the vibration profile underneath the wing stations is a lot different than on an Apache,” pointed out Edwards.

“[Major partner] Boeing has the rocket motor responsibilities for the team and we have signed ATK as our teammate, as our subcontractor,” concluded Riley.

John Patterson: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Craig Vanbeeber: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

* Compiled by KMI Media Group staff