BAE Systems successfully launched a 2.75" laser guided rocket using a unique mid-body, fin-mounted, guidance system, scoring a "bull's-eye" hit on a small target more than three miles away from its launch point. The control test vehicle (CTV) was fired Sept. 29 at the Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona for the Army's low cost precision kill (LCPK) program.
During the rocket's flight, the CTV completed a series of preprogrammed flight maneuvers, demonstrating real-time aerodynamic control by the autopilot and inertial sensor. The test vehicle was launched with a fully integrated guidance and control system and semi-active laser seeker to evaluate subsystem performance in flight. The shot followed extensive hardware in the loop testing at the Army's Missile Research and Development Engineering Center facility, Huntsville, AL. The LCPK program is an advanced technology development program to develop prototype laser-based 2.75" guidance sections. BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems, Nashua, NH, is working under a $5 M contract to design and develop the guided rocket.