Lockheed Martin (LMT) successfully conducted the fifth and final Production Qualification Test (PQT) for the recent Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead recently at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
During the long-range test, four rockets were fired from a HIMARS launcher and destroyed their respective targets approximately 65 kilometers away. The test is the general milestone before the Developmental Test/Operational Test (DT/OT) phase, in order to incorporate soldiers into the system testing. The DT/OT phase will begin this summer and should conclude with the Initial Operational Test & Evaluation exercise within the fall of 2014.
“This next phase of testing would be critical in determining operational effectiveness,” said Ken Musculus, vp of Tactical Missiles for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “We are committed to the shopper and their success at the battlefield, and these tests ensure production of a trustworthy and effective solution.”
In April 2012, Lockheed Martin received a $79.4 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to develop the opposite Warhead Program (AWP). Under the terms of the contract, the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development phase of this system runs 36 months, that specialize in system performance, warhead qualification and producibility.
The Alternative Warhead is designed to interact the identical target set and accomplish the identical area-effects requirement because the GMLRS submunitions warhead, but without the lingering danger of unexploded ordnance. The other Warhead is being developed by ATK under subcontract to Lockheed Martin.
The AWP is a part of a U.S. Department of Defense plan to create a GMLRS variant that meets the DoD’s cluster munition policy. The Lockheed Martin GMLRS Alternative Warhead program may also be compliant with the provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions international treaty.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is an international security and aerospace company that employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is mainly engaged inside the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, services and products. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.
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