Raytheon-Boeing team fires first joint air-to-ground missile

Raytheon Company and The Boeing Company fired the first Joint Air-to-Ground Missile during a test funded by the two companies.

The weapon, fired from a ground-based rotary-wing launcher, performed a series of preprogrammed maneuvers and flew to a predesignated location, validating the flight control software and Brimstone airframe. The mission met all primary test objectives.

"The Raytheon-Boeing JAGM is on track to demonstrate our low-risk entry into the engineering manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the program," said Bob Francois, Raytheon vice president of Advanced Missiles and Unmanned Systems. "The missile uses existing technologies to provide the warfighter a cost-effective, low-risk and highly capable solution for destroying a wide range of stationary and moving targets in all weather conditions."

The Raytheon-Boeing JAGM features proven components from other Raytheon and Boeing programs including the Raytheon GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II and Boeing Brimstone.

"We had a successful flight of the control test vehicle and anticipate achieving additional milestones with a successful series of guided test vehicle missile firings as a culmination of our technology demonstration phase," said Carl Avila, director of Boeing Advanced Weapons and Missile Systems. "Our system-solution approach to the JAGM program will carry forward into EMD, setting the stage for success. Boeing's extensive experience integrating weapons on the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and AH-64D Apache Longbow combined with Raytheon's proficiency in seeker design and integration make our JAGM the lowest-risk and lowest total-cost solution."

Raytheon Company, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.

The first Raytheon-Boeing Joint Air-to-Ground Missile is fired during a company-funded test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The Raytheon-Boeing JAGM uses existing technologies to provide the warfighter a cost-effective, low-risk solution for destroying a wide range of stationary and moving targets in all weather conditions. (PRNewsFoto/Raytheon Company) WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NM UNITED STATES