Longbow missile demonstrates littoral target capabilities
Recent test firings have demonstrated that a shipboard-launched Longbow missile has the potential to be used to effectively counter fast-attack craft in the maritime environment.
The tests, conducted by the US Army, US Navy and supported by Lockheed Martin, were conducted near Eglin Air Force Base. They saw multiple US Army Longbow missiles fired from a launch fixture provided by the US Navy aboard a 65-foot surface craft.
According to Lockheed Martin, the launches represented a variety of progressively more complex scenarios, with the missiles successfully engaging multiple incoming high-speed boat targets at a range of six kilometers.
The results of the tests offer an efficient path forward for shipboard launches with a weapon already in US government inventory.
Hady Mourad, director of advanced programs, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said: ‘This was the second demonstration firing conducted by the army with Lockheed Martin assistance. These firings showed the capability of the existing Longbow missile in a new littoral threat environment, and also verified the vertical-launch capability of the missile. Earlier this year, we demonstrated the use of Longbow from an Apache helicopter against a representative littoral target.’
The fire-and-forget Longbow missile uses millimeter-wave guidance to lock onto targets before or after launch. The demonstrations were the first vertical launches of the Longbow missile and the first lock-on after launch of a Longbow missile against maritime targets.
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