The US Navy has successfully completed a series of guided flight tests of 155mm long-range land attack projectiles (LRLAP) at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, US.
During the four flight trials, conducted as part of land-based flight qualification during the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase, the global positioning system (GPS) guided projectile accurately hit the targets, placed 45nm from the launch site.
The demonstration also validated the projectile’s gun launch, GPS acquisition, navigation and guidance, height of burst fuzzing, accuracy and warhead function.
Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS) Navy Surface Ship Weapons major programme manager captain Mike Ladner said the team will integrate the new capability aboard the US Navy’s DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class guided missile vessels, following successful completion of qualification phase.
"This test not only successfully demonstrated the LRLAP capability, which is pretty substantial with respect to accuracy, but also built on the successes of previous tests toward the demonstration of a reliable gun-launch land attack projectile," Ladner said.
The LRLAP rocket-assisted guided projectile will support land-attack operations onboard the US Navy’s DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers.
Capable of supporting land-attack operations onboard the US Navy’s DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers, LRLAP rocket-assisted guided projectile can be launched using a unique propelling charge.
Each of the DDG 1000’s two advanced gun systems (AGS) can fire more than ten LRLAP rounds in a minute to support land-attack operations.
Scheduled to achieve initial operational capability in 2016, the system features a GPS-based guidance system and a unitary warhead with an adjustable height-of-burst or point-detonation fuse.
Image: An illustration of US Navy’s Zumwalt-class ship. Photo: file image.
