SL-AMRAAM Demonstrates Command Destruct/Self Destruct Capability

Released on Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Raytheon Company, in partnership with the Spanish Army and the U.S. Air Force, recently conducted three successful surface-launched firings of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) at Sweden's missile test range in Vidsel, Sweden.

The firings consisted of a telemetry shot against a sub-scale target drone, which resulted in a skin-to-skin hit, and two shots successfully demonstrating Raytheon's new command destruct/self destruct (CD/SD) capability for AMRAAM in the surface launch mode.

The CD/SD capability provides greater flexibility in the employment of Surface Launched AMRAAM (SL-AMRAAM) while engaging cruise missile and unmanned aerial vehicle threats. The capability helps mitigate collateral damage when used in a surface launch role within an urban environment.

Additionally, CD/SD software provides the capability of a programmable self-destruct to help reduce fratricide. These successful tests concluded more than 24 months of work on the Software Upgrade Program 2006 for AMRAAM. The CD/SD tests complement a string of successful SL-AMRAAM firings that started in May 2006 with the Norwegian Air Force scoring seven direct hits at its Andoya Rocket Range in Norway.