TACMS in first flight test
Lockheed Martin’s first modernised Tactical Missile System (TACMS) has successfully completed its first flight test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the company announced on 9 November 2016.
The missile was launched from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher at a target area over 130km away, successfully hitting the target with a proximity sensor-enabled detonation.
The missile has been modernised under the army’s TACMS Service Life Extension Program inventory refurbishment effort, with updated guidance electronics and added capability to defeat area targets without leaving behind unexploded ordnance.
The modernisation process disassembles and demilitarises previous-generation submunition warheads that do not comply with the international Convention on Cluster Munitions, replacing them with new unitary warheads; and resets the missile’s 10+ year shelf life.
The TACMS platform also provides flexibility to quickly integrate novel payloads and new capabilities.
TACMS was formerly known as ATACMS.
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