Lockheed Martin successfully conducted the second flight test of a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Unitary rocket at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., on June 30.

The Guided Unitary rocket will expand the current target set of GMLRS, giving maneuver commanders a precision capability while greatly limiting collateral damage in restrictive terrain and urban areas.

Test objectives included demonstrating the functionality of the unitary warhead, which was temperature-conditioned "hot" for the test, as well as collecting shock and vibration data. Guidance and control system performance and warhead effectiveness were also tested in the short-range flight. All test objectives were achieved.

"With two successful flights of Guided Unitary now under our belt, we're moving steadily forward towards our goal of providing our forces with yet another member of the MLRS family of munitions," said Al Duchesne, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control's director - MLRS Rocket Programs. "The Guided Unitary rocket will add another dimension of precision attack to the battlefield commander's arsenal of MLRS rockets and Army Tactical Missile System missiles."

Lockheed Martin received a $119 million contract to conduct System Development and Demonstration (SDD) for a GMLRS variant with a single warhead in October 2003. The SDD contract includes 86 rockets, 71 of which are flight articles, with the balance supporting test and other activities. The contract also provides test hardware to support 26 flight tests for an initial configuration and 39 flight tests of a follow-on configuration.

The SDD phase of this program was preceded by a successful system demonstration in 2002 of a Quick Reaction Unitary Rocket and a nine-month Component Advanced Development program. The Guided Unitary SDD program will continue through 2007.

The GMLRS Unitary rocket has a Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided inertial guidance package integrated on the MLRS Extended-Range rocket body. Additionally, small canards on the rocket's nose add basic maneuverability to further enhance the accuracy of the system. The GMLRS Unitary rocket carries a 180-pound unitary warhead that detonates upon impact, giving battlefield commanders the ability to attack targets up to 70 kilometers away with high precision.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin