AGM-179 JAGM
The AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) is an American military program to develop an air-to-surface missile to replace the current air-launched BGM-71 TOW, AGM-114 Hellfire, and AGM-65 Maverick missiles. The U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps plan to buy thousands of JAGMs. Description. The Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) program is a follow-on from the unsuccessful AGM-169 Joint Common Missile program that was cancelled due to budget cuts. JAGM will share basically the same objectives and technologies as JCM but will be developed over a longer time scale. History. In June  2007 the US Defense Department released a draft request for proposals (RFP) launching a competition for the Joint Air to Ground Missile (JAGM) program. In 2008, Raytheon and Boeing teamed up on a $125 million contract, and Lockheed Martin received a $122 million technology development contract for the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) system. The 27-month contracts from the U.S. Army's Aviation and Missile Command is for a competitive risk-reduction phase. Each team submitted its proposal in the spring of 2011, with contract award expected in the first quarter of 2012. However, in September  the Army and Navy requested the JAGM program be terminated. JAGM survived a budget reduction in 2012 with reduced funding. In 2012, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon received contracts from the U.S. Army to extend the JAGM technology development program including the design, test, and demonstration phases for the JAGM guidance section. In 2013, the Army announced it would not award Raytheon a contract for the remainder of the Technology Development (TD) phase and will continue with Lockheed's contract. In 2015, the Army issued an RFP for a JAGM guidance section upgrade. Lockheed Martin was to offer its dual-mode  laser and millimeter wave radar seeker, and Raytheon may submit its tri-mode seeker which adds imaging infrared if it chooses to compete. Lockheed Martin was awarded a $66 million engineering and manufacturing contract to combine its laser and millimeter wave seekers into the Hellfire Romeo missile body. Raytheon chose not to compete but retains its tri-mode seeker should the Army request it. The designation AGM-179 was assigned to the JAGM program. A Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract for JAGM was approved in 2018. The AGM-179A achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) with USMC AH-1Z helicopters in early  2022, clearing the weapon for operational deployment. Operators. In February 2012, the Navy and Marine Corps terminated their investment in the program, saying it was a "manageable risk" to do so and that they would instead focus on the GBU-53/B SDB II and continued Hellfire procurement, making the JAGM an Army-only program. In March 2014, they re-entered the program, with documents showing integration of the missile onto Marine AH-1Z helicopters.