page_title: Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System
hierarchical_section_title: Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System
caption_attribution_description: English: The 40th Flight Test Squadron completed another first in February when an A-10 Thunderbolt II fired a guided rocket that impacted only inches away from its intended target. The 2.75 diameter, 35-pound, laser-guided rocket is known as the fixed-wing Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II. Before the Thunderbolt test, the rocket had proved effective in Afghanistan combat operations when fired from Marine helicopters. (Courtesy illustration)
context_page_description: The AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System is a design conversion of Hydra 70 unguided rockets with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions. 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. By the end of 2019, BAE Systems had manufactured over 35,000 APKWS units.
context_section_description: The AGR-20A 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).  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. By the end of 2019, BAE Systems had manufactured over 35,000 APKWS units.
caption: Artist illustration of A-10 firing APKWS
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