Apacheâ??launched DAGR engages moving target
Lockheed Martin has announced that its Direct Attack Guided Rocket (DAGR) has successfully tracked and engaged a moving target in a recent demonstration at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz, marking a significant milestone for the DAGR. The company made the announcement 8 May, 2012.
The company said that test pilots launched an inert DAGR round in high winds from an AH-64D Apache, designating the target using the helicopter's lock-on-before-launch mode. The target was a truck moving at 25 miles per hour, and the target was struck from a distance of 3.5 kilometres.
Lockheed Martin also reported that the demonstration, which consisted of four flight tests, also showed other DAGR capabilities including use of lock-on-after-launch mode, a long-range 5 kilometre flight and launch from a 5-degree offset. The DAGR round hit within one metre of the laser spot in all four tests.
Lockheed Martin has now conducted more than 30 DAGR flight tests from ranges of 1 kilometre to 5.1 kilometres. DAGR has been launched from multiple Hellfire-equipped rotary-wing platforms, including the AH-64D Apache, AH-6 Little Bird and OH-58 Kiowa Warrior.
DAGR incorporates Hellfire II technology into a 2.75-inch/70 millimetre module that integrates seamlessly with legacy Hydra-70 rockets. The laser-guided missile ‘puts a 10-pound warhead within one meter of the laser spot, devastating high-value, non-armoured or lightly-armoured targets while minimising collateral damage,’ Lockheed Martin said.
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