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.
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. This AIM-120D though I am going to love to see the specifications on it. I bet it'll have a range like the Meteor BVRAAM.