A joint venture of Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has delivered for testing the first component of the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems, a launch system for small precision-guided missiles.
NetFires LLC delivered the first two container launch units for the Non Line-of-Sight-Launch System (NLOS-LS) to Army Evaluation Task Force soldiers in Fort Bliss, Texas.
Informally dubbed "missiles in a box," the NLOS-LS formerly called NetFires, is a system of self-contained missiles and launch containers that can be adapted to a variety of military platforms, including Army Humvees and coastal Navy vessels.
Two types of missiles still under development, the Raytheon-made Precision Attack Missile (PAM) and Lockheed's Loitering Attack Missile (LAM), can be fired from the NLOS-LS launchers.
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The 7-inch diameter, 117-pound PAM is equipped for precision targeting with a dual-mode infrared and semi-active laser target seeker, as well as Global Positioning System satellite guidance and inertial guidance.
The similar-sized LAM, uses a laser radar seeker and is designed to loiter for up to half an hour over a target area.
Both missiles are designed to relay data and images and can be remotely retargeted in mid-flight as part of a "networked battlefield" concept being designed into the Pentagon's Future Combat Systems initiative.
