Pentagon awards JAGM development contract

Marina Malenic, Washington, DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
03 August 2015

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An artist's rendering of Lockheed Martin's JAGM. Source: Lockheed Martin

The US Army and the US Navy on 31 July awarded Lockheed Martin a USD66 million engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract for the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) programme, government and company officials told reporters during a 3 August teleconference. Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisition executive, authorised the programme to enter the EMD phase and award the contract via a 29 July Acquisition Decision Memorandum, said Colonel James Romero, the army's project manager for joint attack munition systems.

The EMD contract includes two additional options for low-rate initial production valued at approximately USD60 million each, army officials said.

Frank St John, vice-president of Tactical Missiles and Combat Maneuver Systems at Lockheed Martin, speaking during a separate teleconference, said the company is already preparing for initial operational capability (IOC), scheduled for 2018. To reach IOC, the missile must be integrated onto the army's Boeing AH-64 Apache and the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, the JAGM production line must be qualified, and "limited quantities" of the missile must be delivered to the army, said St John.

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