NLOS-LS team's Precision Attack Missile Completes 3rd Test Flight

(White Sands Missile Range, N.M., December 23, 2008) -- NetFires LLC, a joint venture between Raytheon Company and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, completed the third guided test flight of the Non Line-of-Sight-Launch System's Precision Attack Missile.

"The PAM missile, launched from a container launch unit, used the fire-and-forget uncooled imaging infrared seeker to score a direct hit against a stationary T-72 tank," said Scott Speet, executive vice president of NetFires LLC and Raytheon's NLOS-LS program director.


The test demonstrated the PAM seeker's ability to autonomously detect and acquire the target. The missile used its onboard automatic target acquisition to detect and acquire the intended target in an array of other vehicles.

"This has been a great three weeks for the NLOS-LS team," said Col. Doug Dever, the U.S. Army's NLOS-LS project manager. "This test validates the dual mode seeker. Using an uncooled imaging infrared seeker is a first for an Army missile."

The PAM missile, while guiding to its intended target, joined the network with its onboard radio, sent back a terminal target image during the flight and operated as a node on the net throughout the flight.

"This is one more major step toward providing a revolutionary capability to our soldiers," said Anne Johnson, NetFires LLC president and Lockheed Martin NLOS-LS program director. "Guided Test Vehicle-3 marks the third time the NLOS-LS CLU was used in a flight test of the PAM missile."

Source : Raytheon