The Army has formally canceled the Non-Line of Sight Launch System, a billion-dollar missile program under development by Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems and Lockheed Martin.
The cancellation of the system, known as NLOS-LS — a modular system of 15 all-weather missiles that was part of the canceled Future Combat Systems — comes after recent test failures and an examination of the program’s cost and performance by a Pentagon review board.
Raytheon makes the NLOS-LS’ Precision Attack Missile (PAM) and Lockheed makes the launch unit, under a joint venture known as Netfires LLC.
The missile failed in four of six flights in a critical Army “limited user test” at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in late January and early February. The missile had succeeded in 12 of 17 prior tests.
Cost was also a factor. At production levels, the PAM missiles were expected to cost $300,000 each, though Raytheon said that cost could be cut to less than $200,000.
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“A detailed analysis of alternatives determined that the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS) does not provide a cost-effective precision fire capability,” the Army said in a news release.
“The Army intends to pursue other capabilities to engage a moving target in all-weather conditions in order to fulfill the operational requirement defined for the NLOS-LS.”
The Pentagon has spent more than $1 billion on the NLOS-LS development program, which is about 90 percent complete. A planned long-term production contract including nearly 10,000 missiles could have been worth more than $2 billion.
There is still a possibility that the Navy could pick up the NLOS-LS program. The Navy has been studying the system for possible use aboard its new Littoral Combat Ship, which needs a precision-guided weapon for its coastal defense mission.