By Geoff Fein
While the Navy and Marine Corps continue to study ways to deliver surface fire support, Lockheed Martin [LMT] and BAE Systems are working on an effort to take the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) designed for DDG-1000, and turn it into a 5-inch guided rocket.
Last summer BAE and Lockheed Martin announced they were partnering to develop a 5-inch precision-guided Extended Range Munition (ERM) for the Navy.
In March ’08, the Navy ceased funding Raytheon’s [RTN] Extended Range Guided Munition (Defense Daily, March 26). Since then, the Navy has maintained it is committed to finding a solution for ERM and planned to develop an analysis of alternatives (AoA) for Naval Surface Fire Support beginning in the fourth quarter of FY ’08 (Defense Daily, June 9).
The AoA is now expected to be issued sometime this year, a source told Defense Daily.
BAE developed the Advanced Gun System (AGS) and Lockheed Martin makes LRLAP.
But with the Navy’s plan to truncate DDG-1000, the future for AGS and LRLAP became dim.
AGS, along with LRLAP, was the first development program initiated as a system approach to satisfy a requirement, Darien Kearns, manager, business development for Lockheed Martin, told Defense Daily yesterday at the annual Surface Navy Association (SNA) symposium in Arlington, Va.
“It allowed us to determine the optimal design to satisfy the requirement,” he said. “I believe it is the first time a gun was developed as a system.”
While there had been some discussion about putting AGS and LRLAP onto other platforms, such as a LPD-17 class amphibious ship or a DDG-51, the ideas went no further than the discussion level. One problem, some sources said, is that AGS is too big of a gun to go on a platform smaller than DDG-1000.
Last year Vice Adm. Barry McCullough, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration of Capabilities and Resources (N8), told a gathering of SNA members that the Navy has considered putting AGS on a DDG-51. McCullough at the time said the large gun could be put on an Arleigh Burke, with some modification. “The issue is the size of magazine. It goes down a third of what is on DDG-1000,” he said (Defense Daily, Sept. 22).
AGS is in production for installation on the first two Zumwalt-class combat ships. “It’s very big as the design stands now,” Tom Pfenning, director munition programs, armament systems for BAE, told Defense Daily yesterday.
BAE is looking at a lighter version of AGS for other platforms, Pfenning noted.
But while AGS’ future is uncertain, the two companies are moving ahead to take the 6-inch LRLAP round and turn it into a 5-inch guided projectile.
The success BAE and Lockheed Martin have had with AGS and LRLAP gives the team confidence they will succeed.
“Our approach on LRLAP is to go after medium to low risk development,” Kearns said.
One of the challenges with ERGM was the fact the round would be shot out of the gun in excess of 11,000 Gs.
To hopefully avoid any issues with G forces, BAE and Lockheed Martin are using “G” hardened electronics that have been proven on LRLAP, Kearns added.
And the gun to fire a 5-inch projectile is already on DDG-81 and follow-on Arleigh Burke ships, as well as 13 to 14 international vessels., Pfenning said. That gives the team a potential market of 224 Mk 45 Mod 4 guns world wide that can fire a 5-inch LRLAP, including the U.S. Navy.
The Navy plans to install the Mk 45 Mod 4 on 32 DDGs (Defense Daily, July 3).
BAE makes the Mk 45 Mod 4 gun.
“We are going through IRAD to see what we need to do for a 5-inch [projectile],” Kearns said. “We have to look at a uplink capability for retargeting.”
The team will be able to reuse more than 80 percent of LRLAP’s flight software, as well as other components, Ryan May, a BAE spokesman, told Defense Daily yesterday.
In addition, the team will be able to transition other systems from the 6-inch LRLAP.
Right now the team is focused on the component level, finalizing the design and going through reliability and robustness testing, Pfenning said.
Long-range guided shots are planned for the May-June time frame, at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., he added.
“Our plan by the end of the year is to demonstrate guided flights,” Pfenning said. “We have demonstrated some key components.”