Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System

Last updated
AGR-20 (APKWS II)
APKWS.jpg
1) Top picture: standard Hydra-70 2) Bottom picture: APKWS
Type Rocket
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service2012–present
Used bySee Foreign users
Production history
Manufacturer BAE Systems
Unit cost$22,000 [1]
No. built50,000 [2]
Specifications
Mass32 lb (15 kg) [3]
Length73.8 in (1.87 m) [3]
Diameter2.75 in (70 mm) (unfired) [4]
Effective firing range1,100–5,000 m (0.68–3.11 mi) (rotary wing);
2–11 km (1.2–6.8 mi) (fixed wing) [5] [3]
Maximum speed 739–1,000 metres per second (2,420–3,280 ft/s) [4] [6]
Guidance
system
Distributed aperture semi-active laser seeker
Launch
platform
See Launch platforms

The AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) is a design conversion of Hydra 70 unguided rockets with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). [7] APKWS is approximately one-third the cost and one-third the weight of the current inventory of laser-guided weapons, has a lower yield more suitable for avoiding collateral damage, and takes one quarter of the time for ordnance personnel to load and unload.

Contents

Development

Where possible the system utilizes existing Hydra 70 components such as launchers, rocket motors, warheads and fuzes. The weapon bridges the gap between the Hydra 70 and AGM-114 Hellfire systems and provides a cost-effective method of engaging lightly armored point targets. APKWS is the U.S. government's only Program of Record for the semi-active, laser-guided 2.75 inches (70 mm) rocket. [8]

It converts the Hydra 70 unguided rocket into a precision guided munition through the addition of a mid-body guidance unit developed by BAE Systems. The APKWS has also been successfully tested in live fire exercises with the Forges de Zeebrugge unguided rocket, converting it into a precision guided munition and demonstrating the technology can be used on other rocket types than the Hydra 70. [8]

Design

U.S. Marines of the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 demonstrating the conversion of a Hydra 70 into a APKWS II and loading into a Bell AH-1Z Viper.

The winning bidder for the APKWS II contract was the team of BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, [9] beating the offerings from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Systems. [10]

The APKWS II uses the Distributed Aperture Semi-Active Laser Seeker (DASALS) technology. This system allows a laser seeker to be located in the leading edge of each of the forward control canards, working in unison as if they were a single seeker. This configuration allows existing warheads from the Hydra 70 system to be used without the need for a laser seeker in the missile nose.

The APKWS II system is composed of the launch platform, rockets equipped with the WGU-59/B mid-body guidance unit, the lengthened 7-tube LAU-68 F/A rocket launcher, the SCS 7 aiming cue (not needed for attack helicopters), and Fastpack PA-140 and CNU-711/E storage kits for rockets and guidance kits, respectively, to ensure they are safe in the field. The WGU-59/B mid-body guidance unit is equipped with DASALS seeker optics which deploy 0.5 seconds after launch. They are attached in between the Mk 66 Mod 4 rocket motor and a warhead and fuze, which increases length by 18.5 in (47 cm) and weight by 9 lb (4.1 kg) over the legacy Hydra system. [5]

Firing ranges are 1,100-5,000 meters, the former of which can be hit less than 5 seconds after firing. [5] Maximum range is constrained by use of the existing Hydra 70 motor, but since the seeker can see as far as 14 km (8.7 mi), a more powerful motor could extend range while retaining accuracy. [11] Nammo is working on a modified rocket motor that can extend range to 12–15 km (7.5–9.3 mi). [12]

A software upgrade of the APKWS will be applied starting in late 2021; the upgrade increases range by 30% by means of an optimized flight trajectory to engage targets at a steeper angle of attack, while also being qualified on both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft in a single variant and improving the surface danger zone logic for better training range options. [13] [14]

In June 2021, BAE successfully tested the APKWS in a counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) role. An APKWS-equipped rocket was fitted with a proximity fuze and destroyed a Class 2 UAS. The proximity fuze enables it to intercept UAS at a lower cost than other methods, and due to the rocket's laser guidance that activates on launch it does not require locking on to the target before launch. [15] [16]

Specifications

Program status

Deployment

In December 2019, the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin AFB, Florida, conducted a test using APKWS rocket against a drone representing a cruise missile. By adapting the rocket for cruise missile defense, it can serve the same role as the much more expensive AIM-120 missile, according to an Air Force release. "The test was unprecedented and will shape the future of how the Air Force executes CMD," Col. Ryan Messer, commander of the 53d Wing at Eglin, said in a release. "This is a prime example of how the 53d Wing is using resources readily available to establish innovative ways that enhance combat capabilities for our combat units." [45]

In June 2020, BAE announced they had completed test firings of the APKWS from a ground launcher for the first time. Several rockets were fired from an Arnold Defense-built launcher called the Fletcher designed specifically for ground vehicles, demonstrating the weapon's ability to address a demand for standoff ground-to-ground precision munitions for small ground units. [46] [47] In April 2024, the U.S. Navy ordered five Electronic Advanced Ground Launcher Systems (EAGLS) for rapid delivery in response to an urgent need to respond to UAS threats in the Middle East. EAGLS is a self-contained system consisting of a four-round APKWS launcher, a sensor turret with EO/IR cameras, and an RPS-40 radar. [48]

Foreign users

Launch platforms

APGWS II launched from SH-60S/MH-60S Seahawk MH-60S from HSC 7 firing APKWS II during live fire qualification exercise 2015-08-18.jpg
APGWS II launched from SH-60S/MH-60S Seahawk

See also

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