By Ann Roosevelt
Lockheed Martin [LMT] recently announced it hit the target in two tests featuring Direct Attack Guided Rocket (DAGR) guided rockets launched from an airborne OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter.
DAGR is a semi-active laser guidance kit that adapts to 2.75-inch/70mm rockets to provide guided-rocket performance comparable to that of the precision-strike laser-guided Hellfire II missile.
This is the fourth aircraft DAGR has fired from in the past year from platforms including the AH-64D Apache and the AH-6 Little Bird.
Lockheed Martin unveiled the DAGR in September 2007.
Two DAGRs were launched from the OH-58D Kiowa in airborne tests, at ranges of 3.5 and 5 km. Both hit within 1 meter of the laser aimpoint.
“With successful flights from the Apache, Little Bird and now Kiowa helicopters, DAGR is rapidly establishing itself as the laser-guided 2.75-inch rocket that our Hellfire customers have sought as a low-cost, low collateral damage complement to the Hellfire II missile itself,” Randy Thomas, DAGR program manager at Lockheed Martin, said.
The DAGR guided rocket design itself has not changed substantially in the past few years, though “we have made some refinements based on feedback from customer tests,” a Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control spokesperson told Defense Daily.
“We have made significant changes to the DAGR smart launch canister, which now comes in two configurations,” the spokesperson said. “The rail-mount launcher mounts to a Hellfire-compatible launcher (M299 and M310) and readily integrates with all Hellfire platforms including unmanned aerial vehicles and Apache, Kiowa, Cobra, Seahawk and Tiger helicopters. A mixed loadout of Hellfire IIs and DAGRs can be mounted on the same launcher, providing operational flexibility that enables cost-effective multi-mission capability from a single platform.”
The launcher features its own strongback and electronics to provide weapons inventory and other data to the operator. Thus it can be carried by platforms that are not Hellfire- compatible, including lightweight fixed-wing aircraft, small rotary-wing aircraft, and patrol boats, as well as ground-launch pedestals and vehicles.
The DAGR system has demonstrated its precision strike and maneuver capabilities in more than 20 successful guided flight tests, hitting short- and long-range off-axis targets close to the laser-designated aimpoint. This provides Warfighters with increased capability, quick response to pop-up threats and an expanded engagement envelope, the company said.
DAGR is in low-rate initial production for a government customer, though the company can not provide details at this time.