Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30&nbsp;years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.

Defense Correspondent

Chris Pocock

The U.S. Army has awarded an engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract for the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) to Lockheed Martin, as expected. The company will receive $66 million to do the EMD over the next two years, so that initial operating capability can be achieved in 2018. The JAGM will be deployed on various U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps platforms, including AH-1 and AH-64 helicopters and the MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV.&nbsp;

 


Two weeks before the award, Lockheed Martin demonstrated the dual-mode SAL and MMW seeker for the JAGM <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-07-16/jagm-hits-targets-lockheed-martin-awaits-army-contract">in flight tests</a>. The design “provides the warfighter with precision strike and fire-and-forget capabilities against moving targets in all weather conditions,” claimed Frank St John, v-p for tactical missiles/combat maneuver systems at Lockheed Martin. The new guidance section is mated to an AGM-114R Hellfire missile body to provide a modular, low-risk design, according to the company.

 


The Army originally sought to evaluate a tri-mode seeker as well for JAGM, which prompted a proposal from a Raytheon-Boeing team. This enhancement was later dropped for budgetary reasons, and Lockheed Martin was the sole bidder for the EMD contract.

Lockheed Martin Secures JAGM Development Contract

Dual-mode guidance will improve the capability of Hellfire missiles launched from helicopters and UAVs.

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