US orders Lot 10 and Lot 11 AARGM
An AGM-88E2 AARGM is launched from an F/A-18 during testing. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman is to deliver full-rate production AGM-88 air-launched missiles for the USN and FMS customer Germany.
A new $153 million deal from US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) will see Northrop Grumman produce and deliver Lot 10 and Lot 11 AGM-88E2 Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles (AARGMs) for the USN and German Air Force (under the FMS programme).
The contract includes an option to convert 51 AGM-88B High Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs) into AGM-88E AARGM all-up-rounds for the German Air Force.
Work is expected to be completed in March 2025.
Describing AARGM on 30 November as ‘an affordable solution to continue protecting the US Navy and our allies’, Gordon Turner, Northrop Grumman VP of advanced weapons, added: ‘The ability to detect and defeat the rapid proliferation of today’s surface-to-air-threats, while remaining out of harm’s way, is paramount to mission success.’
Northrop Grumman has produced more than 1,500 AARGM missiles in an international cooperative acquisition programme with the USN and the Italian Air Force. The supersonic AARGM upgrades legacy AGM-88 HARM systems with the advanced capability to perform suppression of enemy air defence systems.
Northrop Grumman is also developing the AARGM–Extended Range missile in partnership with the USN.
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