AIM-120D development slips

From Aviation Week

Development On Latest Upgraded AMRAAM Slips

May 30, 2008

Amy Butler/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

The U.S. Air Force is again extending Raytheon’s contract to design and produce a significant upgrade to its radar-guided Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).

The AIM-120D – which adds a Global Positioning System receiver, conformal front-end antenna and a two-way datalink to the weapon – has recently encountered problems during the transition from design work into the production phase, according to program officials at the Air Armament Center, Fla. The improvements are expected to boost the missile’s accuracy and range, and are designed to be effective in an electronic attack environment.

The new equipment will allow the D to receive targeting updates from its launch aircraft after deployment at wider angles than earlier AMRAAM designs. The D is designed to target the most advanced Russian and Chinese fighters now being fielded.

Raytheon received a contract modification worth $9.7 million – 10 percent of the original contract cost – earlier this month to cover the cost of the AMRAAM D overrun. The development effort is expected to be complete in June 2009, nearly one year later than required in the most recent program restructuring.

A delay in 2006 to the development of the AIM-120C7 contributed to an earlier slip in D program work as well. The C7, which is operational and designed for use by allies, incorporates smaller, more modern electronics, freeing up space in the weapon for the new equipment in the D program. As development on the D continues, the Air Force and Navy are buying more C7s.

Hardware delays on the D, including what Air Force program officials call a “minor redesign” of circuit card assemblies for the missiles, were a driver for the delay in production of “proof of manufacture” units. Flight-test execution also has lagged, due in part to weather and delays in the availability of target aircraft. Last year’s temporary grounding of the F-15 following a midair breakup of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C also contributed to the testing slip.

Initial operational capability was slated for the Navy’s F/A-18E/F in the first quarter of fiscal 2010, with the Air Force’s F-15 to follow in six months. It is unclear what the new availability dates of the missile will be given the most recent delay.