ATK (NYSE: ATK), a world leader in ammunition, precision guided weapons and rocket motors, has been awarded a contract valued at $102.4 million by the U.S. Navy for the second full-rate production lot (FRP 2) of the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). The contract covers AARGM and Captive Air Training Missiles (CATMs) for the U.S. Navy, Italian Air Force and CATMs for the Royal Australian Air Force.
AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile system, upgrading legacy AGM-88 HARM systems with advanced capability to perform Destruction of Enemy Air Defense missions. AARGM provides the most advanced system for pilots, with in-cockpit, real-time electronic order of battle situational awareness against today's modern surface-to-air threats. It is able to rapidly engage traditional and advanced land- and sea-based air-defense threats, as well as non-radar, time-sensitive strike targets.
"The award of FRP 2 is a significant milestone not only for the quantity of missiles to be produced and delivered but also because it marks the beginning of AARGM deliveries to international customers through the Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales process," said Bill Kasting, vice president and general manager of ATK's Defense Electronic Systems division. "We are proud to provide this critical capability and look forward to continuing delivery of AARGM on schedule and on budget to the U.S. Navy and our allies."
"AARGM is able to take on the difficult missions from several platforms, providing our military an advanced and unique capability," said Mike Kahn, president of ATK's Defense Group. "The accuracy and reliability achieved by AARGM is core to our mission of delivering precision weapons our customers can depend on."
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) submitted a signed Letter of Offer and Acceptance to the U.S. Government for the first Foreign Military Sales procurement of AARGM. The CATMs will be used for training purposes as the RAAF takes delivery of the EA-18G Growler aircraft. Production of Italian Air Force missiles continues under this contract as part of the U.S.-Italy joint international cooperative program.
AARGM is currently deployed in multiple theaters with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and is on schedule and on budget. AARGM achieved Initial Operational Capability in July 2012 and was awarded the initial Full Rate Production contract in August 2012. AARGM is a U.S. Navy and Italian Air Force international cooperative major acquisition program with the U.S. Navy as the executive agent. AARGM is currently deployed on U.S. FA-18C/D Hornet aircraft and is being integrated for use on the U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler and FA-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft, as well as the Italian Air Force's Tornado ECR aircraft. The missile is also compatible with the F-35, EA-6B, allied FA-18, and U.S. and allied F-16.