Lockheed Martin's DAGR Successfully Engages Moving Target In Apache Demonstration

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May 08, 2012, 08:30 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin's Direct Attack Guided Rocket (DAGR) successfully tracked and engaged a moving target in a recent demonstration at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.

"DAGR hit a moving target from 3.5 kilometers," said Hady Mourad, DAGR program director in Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control business. "Defeating high-value targets on the move is a critical capability, and demonstrating this ability is a significant milestone for the precision-strike DAGR."

Test pilots launched an inert DAGR round in high winds from an AH-64D Apache, designating the target using the helicopter's lock-on-before-launch mode. The target was a truck moving at 25 miles per hour.

The demonstration, which consisted of four flight tests, also showed other DAGR capabilities including use of lock-on-after-launch mode, a long-range 5 kilometer flight and launch from a 5-degree offset. The DAGR round hit within one meter of the laser spot in all four tests.

Lockheed Martin has conducted more than 30 DAGR flight tests from ranges of 1 kilometer to 5.1 kilometers. DAGR has been launched from multiple HELLFIRE-equipped rotary-wing platforms, including the AH-64D Apache, AH-6 Little Bird and OH-58 Kiowa Warrior.

DAGR incorporates proven HELLFIRE II technology into a 2.75-inch/70 millimeter module that integrates seamlessly with legacy Hydra-70 rockets. The result is a laser-guided missile that puts a 10-pound warhead within one meter of the laser spot, devastating high-value, non-armored or lightly-armored targets while minimizing collateral damage. DAGR enables pilots to lock on to targets before or after missile launch, and provides a large engagement envelope that allows them to pursue offset targets with confidence.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 123,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.

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SOURCE Lockheed Martin