BAE Systems' Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System is meeting its development objectives, and plans are under way to produce and deliver the rocket-guidance capability to the field.
With full funding now in place, the Department of the Navy will assume the $45.7 million APKWS development contract with BAE Systems to complete demonstrations of the system.
"The full funding is great news for the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us," said Frank Wilson, vice president of precision targeting for BAE Systems in Nashua, New Hampshire.
"Congress has recognized the need to protect these men and women in combat. In an environment of declining resources, APKWS is more cost-effective and fiscally responsible than other technology."
APKWS is a low-cost, low-yield precision munition system that changes a standard 2.75-inch unguided rocket to a highly precise, laser-guided weapon capable of engaging unarmored and lightly armored targets.
The seeker guides the warhead to its target with pinpoint accuracy, ensuring that the intended target is destroyed while greatly lessening the risk of collateral damage. With APKWS, military aircrews can engage targets that often were unreachable with conventional 2.75-inch rockets.
