Raytheon to continue LRPF work
Raytheon has secured a $116.4 million contract from the US Army to begin work on the technological maturation and risk reduction phase of the Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) programme, the company announced on 12 June.
LRPF aims to replace the Army Tactical Missile System with a new, longer-range surface-to-surface weapon that can defeat fixed land targets out to 499km.
Called DeepStrike, Raytheon’s LRPF will fire two missiles from a single weapons pod, boost range over current systems by more than 40 percent, and will offer the army the capability to implement future upgrades to increase its versatility for future battlefield requirements.
Work under the phase will include testing missile components to ensure the design is ready for engineering and manufacturing development and live-fire demonstrations by the end of 2019.
Thomas Bussing, VP of Raytheon’s advanced missile systems product line, said: ‘Raytheon can develop, test and field this new capability and deliver it to the army ahead of current expectations to replace aging weapons. LRPF gives soldiers on the battlefield overmatch capability against adversaries.’
More from Land Warfare
-
![Laser weapon solutions are emerging as Europe confronts air defence cost imbalance]()
Laser weapon solutions are emerging as Europe confronts air defence cost imbalance
Europe’s air defence debate is increasingly shaped by the blunt economics of the field. While high-value interceptor missiles can effectively shoot down cheap drones, doing so at scale presents cost challenges.
-
![ARX Robotics expands in UK following British Army backing for uncrewed platforms]()
ARX Robotics expands in UK following British Army backing for uncrewed platforms
Following an order from the British Army, ARX Robotics has begun manufacturing autonomous ground platforms in the UK. Christopher Foss examines the company's growing range of systems.
-
![Textron unveils a smaller, low-cost variant of the Ripsaw family of UGVs]()
Textron unveils a smaller, low-cost variant of the Ripsaw family of UGVs
Ripsaw M1 has been designed to support the US Marine Corps’ littoral missions by carrying diverse types of payloads and performing multiple missions. Shephard spoke with Textron to find out more.
-
![UK plans to adopt “phased approach to restarting” British Army Ajax programme]()
UK plans to adopt “phased approach to restarting” British Army Ajax programme
The introduction of Ajax vehicles into British Army service was stopped after health issues during an exercise. However, an investigation reported “no single causal mechanism of the symptoms reported by our soldiers but rather a combination of multiple factors”.
