Air, Fighters, Missiles & Guided Weapons, Rocket

Anti-Radiation Missile

The U.S. Navy completed an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) captive carry flight on an F/A-18 Super Hornet April 22 at Patuxent River in support of the first live fire event this spring.

AARGM-ER
An F/A-18 Super Hornet flies with an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) during a captive carry flight test at Patuxent River Air Station in Maryland. The U.S. Navy is integrating AARGM-ER on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler, and will be compatible for integration of the F-35 Lightning II (U.S. Navy photo)

This flight marked the first time the AARGM-ER weapon demonstrated it could communicate with the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft. The Separation Test Vehicle (STV) used its hardware and software to facilitate the controlled free flight.

«Data collected from this testing will support expansion of flight testing with AARGM-ER to the full performance envelope of F/A-18 Super Hornet», said Captain Mitch Commerford, program manager for Direct and Time Sensitive Strike program office (PMA-242). «This flight represents a significant step in the AARGM-ER engineering and manufacturing development phase».

During the test, the F/A-18 Super Hornet conducted a series of aerial maneuvers in order to evaluate compatibility of the AARGM-ER with the F/A-18 Super Hornet. The test points completed during this flight test event substantiated F/A-18 Super Hornet carriage compatibility.

AARGM-ER is being integrated on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler, and will be compatible for integration of the F-35 Lightning II. By leveraging the U.S. Navy’s AARGM program that’s in Full Rate Production, the AARGM-ER with a new rocket motor and warhead will provide advanced capability to detect and engage enemy air defense systems.