Article Posted on : - May 06, 2010

F-18 Super Hornet

TUCSON, (BNS): Raytheon-Boeing has demonstrated that their Joint Air-to-Ground Missile model can be employed from Super Hornet.

The team successfully completed wind tunnel testing of the JAGM proving that the JAGM can be flown and employed from the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet's outboard wing station, Raytheon said in a release.

The Raytheon-Boeing offering features a Boeing body and warhead combined with a Raytheon tri-mode seeker.

The tri-mode seeker, which leverages the same technology used on the Raytheon GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II, enables the weapon to attack a variety of fixed and moving targets in all weather conditions.

"The warfighter can place a full Raytheon-Boeing JAGM missile load on the outer wing stations, enabling the system to safely exceed the objective load-out requirement on the Super Hornet," said Bob Francois, Raytheon vice president of Advanced Missiles and Unmanned Systems.

"Boeing has a long history of integrating weapons on platforms like the Super Hornet and the AH-64D Apache helicopter," said Carl Avila, Boeing director of Advanced Weapons and Missile Systems.

"Combining that with Raytheon's seeker expertise makes our JAGM the lowest-risk and most cost-effective solution."