BAE Systems APKWS Nears Production Phase

Released on Monday, July 14, 2008

FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom � BAE Systems' Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System is meeting its development objectives, and plans are under way to produce and deliver the rocket-guidance capability to the field.

With full funding now in place, the Department of the Navy will assume the $45.7 million APKWS development contract with BAE Systems to complete demonstrations of the system.

"The full funding is great news for the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us," said Frank Wilson, vice president of precision targeting for BAE Systems in Nashua, New Hampshire. "Congress has recognized the need to protect these men and women in combat. In an environment of declining resources, APKWS is more cost-effective and fiscally responsible than other technology."

APKWS is a low-cost, low-yield precision munition system that changes a standard 2.75-inch unguided rocket to a highly precise, laser-guided weapon capable of engaging unarmored and lightly armored targets. The seeker guides the warhead to its target with pinpoint accuracy, ensuring that the intended target is destroyed while greatly lessening the risk of collateral damage. With APKWS, military aircrews can engage targets that often were unreachable with conventional 2.75-inch rockets.

APKWS production is planned to begin next year.

The prime contractor for APKWS since April 2006, BAE Systems saw seven successful APKWS demonstrations in 2007 on two helicopter platforms and from a ground launcher. Such tests are used to qualify the system for initial operational capability. With the reprogramming dollars, development funding for APKWS will be used for testing with the Marine Corps' AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter this year.

At the Farnborough Air Show, BAE Systems showed video of the most recent successful test firings of the weapon from a U.S. Army Kiowa warrior helicopter. The helicopter twice launched the guided rocket, hitting the target's bull's-eye both times and confirming that the APKWS rocket is compatible with the aircraft's carriage and launch systems. This was the second set of helicopter test firings. In September, 2007, two APKWS rockets were fired from a USMC AH1-1W, again hitting the target both times. These tests demonstrate that APKWS can be fired from any rotary wing platform without modifications to the aircraft or launchers, and with minimal crew training.