Northrop Grumman marked a significant milestone with the delivery of its 1000th AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM).
AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile system, with the role of destroying enemy air defences, ensuring freedom of maneuver. AARGM is a US Navy and Italian Air Force International Cooperative Programme.
Capt. Matthew Commerford, Navy Program Manager for Direct and Time Sensitive Strike (PMA-242) stated in a news release:
“As our adversaries continue to evolve and advance their air defense systems, AARGM is essential for our warfighters to detect and defeat the various threats, and this achievement ensures the U.S. Navy and our allies have the capability and capacity required to meet our operational needs.”
“The 1,000th delivery showcases the progress made by our joint team since the program began as a Small Business Innovation Research program over a decade ago,” said Gordon Turner, vice president, defense electronic systems, Northrop Grumman.
“It is also affirmation of a continued commitment and sustained investment to providing critical strike weapon capabilities and the industrial base capacity to meet future readiness demands.”
The AARGM program achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in July 2012, and is currently deployed and supporting operational requirements for the US Navy, US Marine Corps, Italian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force.
The missile is integrated into the weapons systems on the FA-18C/D Hornet, FA-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler aircraft and on the Tornado Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance aircraft.
