Lockheed Martin conducts ground-launched DAGR tests

Lockheed Martin has carried out new DAGR missile flight tests, during which the missile was successfully fired from a prototype pedestal launcher. The tests, which took place at Eglin Air Force Base, demonstrated DAGR’s capability as a ground-based weapon.

In each flight test, an inert DAGR missile locked onto the laser spot illuminating the target before launch. Upon launch, each missile flew 3.5 kilometers and hit the target within one foot of the laser spot.

Lockheed Martin’s pedestal launcher features four M299 launcher rails, associated cables and electronics, providing full compatibility with Helfire II and DAGR missiles. DAGR’s canister mounts to the pedestal launch rails as it would on a standard Hellfire launcher designed for aircraft.

DAGR incorporates Hellfire II technology into a 2.75-inch/70 millimeter guidance kit that integrates seamlessly with legacy Hydra-70 rockets. The result is a laser-guided missile that puts a 10-pound warhead within one meter of the laser spot, defeating high-value, non-armored or lightly-armoured targets while minimising collateral damage. DAGR’s lock-on-before launch mode ensures the missile identifies the correct target prior to launch.

Ken Musculus, director of air-to-ground missile system programs in Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business, said of the tests: ‘These tests demonstrated the DAGR missile is as accurate on the ground as it is in the air. The tests also verified the missile’s ability to acquire targets prior to launch, a capability that currently-fielded 2.75-inch guided rockets cannot deliver’.

Lockheed Martin has conducted more than 30 DAGR flight tests from ranges of 1 to 5.1 kilometers. 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.