New Unitary Warhead and Reset Shelf Life

Lockheed Martin‘s modernised Tactical Missile System (TACMS) missile recently completed its fifth consecutive successful flight test at White Sands Missile Range, NM, using a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System ( HIMARS ) launcher, flying some 85km to the target.

“The continued success of the modernised TACMS flight test program validates production readiness,” Scott Greene, Vice President of Precision Fires & Combat Manoeuvre Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, commented.

As part of the US Army’s TACMS Service Life Extension Programme, the modernised missile includes new state-of-the-art guidance electronics and an added capability to defeat area targets without leaving behind unexploded ordnance. The modernisation process disassembles and demilitarises TACMS Block 1 and 1A submunition warheads, replacing them with new unitary warheads and bringing them into compliance with DoD policy on cluster munitions and unintended harm to civilians. The process also resets the missile’s 10+-year shelf life.