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2020-07-06

Ground-Launched APKWS Successfully Tested with FLETCHER

BAE Systems successfully completed test shots of its APKWS laser-guided rockets from a tactical configuration ground-based weapon system for the first time. The company tested the APKWS rockets at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and Arnold Defense, a manufacturer of rocket launchers. The team used Arnold’s FLETCHER 2.75-inch/70mm Weapon System concept – a purpose-built laser-guided rocket launcher for ground vehicles – to fire several successful shots.

The ground-launch capability builds on hundreds of successful shots in combat from rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. The proof-of-concept testing demonstrated the flexibility of APKWS rockets to deliver standoff precision strike capabilities for ground forces, providing warfighters with a unique solution for engaging targets with greater range than small arms fire and without the need for air support.

Greg Procopio, director of Precision Guidance and Sensing Solutions at BAE Systems, said: “Demand is growing for ground-to-ground precision munitions that provide a safe standoff distance for small ground units. We’re working closely with our customer and partners to deliver that capability.”

Jim Hager, president and CEO at Arnold Defense, highlighted: “FLETCHER-launched APKWS rockets enable our military customers to engage targets from more than just airborne platforms. We envision FLETCHER being used on everything from trucks and tracked vehicles to marine platforms in the future.”

Meeting Demands of Modern Warfare

FLETCHER was first unveiled in 2017 at DSEi in London and has since undergone highly successful test firings with reportedly 100 per cent success rate at distances up to 6km. With the system, Arnold Defense has made a departure from the traditional concept of use for 2.75-inch rocket systems; that of an area suppression weapon delivered by aviation assets.

FLETCHER, optimised for use by both special and conventional forces to provide surface-to-surface precision effect, uses advanced rocket-guidance technology to utilise ground-based launch platforms, meeting the demands of modern, vehicle-mounted and dismounted asymmetric warfare.

The system’s unique design allows for ease of operation, maintenance and sustainment. It employs an existing suite of guidance modules, rockets and warheads, already used in well-known programmes and readily available to global forces. It is supported by a team of global defence industry companies, collaborating under Arnold Defense’s leadership to combine their complimentary expertise.

Following international interest since its launch, Arnold Defense has further developed a number of supplementary ground and maritime-based concepts, expanding FLETCHER’s utility into the arena of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV), naval and littoral platforms.

Arnold Defense’s newest member of the rocket launcher family is the Multiple Launch Hydra System (MLHS). Offering the same capability as FLETCHER but with dramatically greater capacity, the MLHS holds 23 rockets, over FLETCHER’s 4 and is set to transform the surface defence world by delivering a low-cost, high-capacity surgical strike capability. Whilst the MLHS is a new system, it represents a significant product development of Arnold Defense’s FLETCHER system.

Delivering Accuracy

Ground-launched APKWS rockets could provide mounted and dismounted units with a unique way to engage soft and lightly armoured targets from a variety of platforms. The low size, weight, and power requirements of ground launched APKWS rockets make them ideal for tactical lightweight vehicles, remote weapon stations, non-standard tactical vehicles, and stationary platforms, providing warfighters with precision munitions that improve their safety and mission effectiveness.

Innovative by design, the APKWS rocket includes advanced DASALS seeker optics located on all four guidance wings. Once fired, the wings deploy, and the optics lock in, guiding the rocket to the target – delivering accuracy when it matters most. Wing slot seals protect optics from adjacent firings, sand, and moisture prior to launch to ensure no damage or debris inhibit the seeker from locking onto targets. Optics lock onto moving or stationary targets in open or confined areas, supporting a wide variety of missions, and eliminating the possibility of a lost or uncontrolled rocket after launch. 40-degree instantaneous field of regard enables a broad capture area for the rocket to adjust mid-flight and stay on track to its target.

APKWS laser-guided rockets are reportedly the only U.S. government programme of record for precision-guided 70-milimeter rockets. All four U.S. armed forces use APKWS rockets, and it is available to U.S. allies via Foreign Military Sales (FMS). FMS activities support more than a dozen partner nations and interest from other nations.

Reference Text/image:

www.baesystems.com

www.arnolddefense.com

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