The AGM-169 Joint Common Missile (JCM) was a tactical

air-to-surface missile An air-to-surface missile (ASM) or air-to-ground missile (AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft at targets on land or sea. There are also unpowered guided glide bombs not considered missiles. The two most common prop ...

program (2002–2007) developed by the

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

corporation for the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

aircraft, such as attack and

utility helicopter A utility helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter capable of pursuing a wide array of tasks. They have proven useful in both civilian and military operations, with versatility being their defining trait. Civilian Helicopters play a crucial ...

strike fighter In current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multirole combat aircraft designed to operate both as an attack aircraft and as an air superiority fighter. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers, and is closely related to the co ...

s and

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

Overview

The missile was designed to replace the

AGM-114 Hellfire The AGM-114 Hellfire is an American missile developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name " Heliborne laser, fi ...

and

AGM-65 Maverick The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) designed for close air support. It is the most widely produced precision-guided missile in the Western world, and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, a ...

. Its seeker head used a combination of semi-active laser, millimeter wave, and IR guidance similar to that found on the

FGM-148 Javelin The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), is an American-made man-portable anti-tank system in service since 1996 and continuously upgraded. It replaced the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service. Its fire-and-f ...

anti-tank missile. This allows the missile to have a greater

fire and forget Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further external intervention after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the targ ...

capability and to operate off all current air platforms. The missile has longer range, a more potent warhead, and a "safing" system, allowing naval aircraft to return to ship without jettisoning the munitions. This missile also shares similarities to the MBDA

Brimstone missile Brimstone is a ground or air-launched ground attack missile developed by MBDA UK for the UK's Royal Air Force. It was originally intended for "fire-and-forget" use against mass formations of enemy armour, using a millimetre wave (mmW) active rad ...

Development

Originally known as CMM (Common Modular Missile), the JCM (Joint Common Missile) was to be also a replacement for the BGM-71 TOW, but this requirement was later dropped. The program began in 2002 and a formal RFP (Request For Proposals) was issued to the industry in late 2003. Competitors included Boeing teamed with Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. During late 2003 and early 2004, the competitors tested components (rocket motor, guidance, fuzing, system interface, etc.) of their JCM proposals. This included test-launches of prototype missiles. In May 2004, Lockheed Martin was declared winner of the JCM competition, and received the prime contract for a four-year SDD (System Development and Demonstration) phase. In December that year, the official designation AGM-169 was allocated to JCM. The development of the missile was first halted in December 2004. The program was on schedule and within its budget at that time, according to Lockheed Martin. However, due to the constraints of the war in Iraq, funding was cut. In 2005 and 2006, Congress began looking into reviving the program when it was found that modernizing the Hellfire would yield higher costs and reduced capability. The JCM has been test flown on the AH-64D in a captive test configuration. In May 2007 the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

formally brought the program to a close and requested that Lockheed Martin cease all development work. It is expected that a follow on program, the Joint Air to Ground Missile (JAGM) will be opened to competitive tender.

Program status

* December 2004 – Pentagon announces cancellation of JCM. * March 2005 – Congressional lobbying to keep the program alive. * September 2005 – Captive JCM test package flown on

AH-64D Apache The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help acquire targets and provide night vis ...

. * January 2006 – Congress restores $30 million to keep the program in mothballs. * September 2006 –

includes $150 million for JCM in FY-08 budget request. * May 2007 – The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command formally instructs Lockheed Martin to cease work on the program and close out the contract by June 15, 2007.

References

External links

AGM-169 JCM - Designation-Systems.Net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agm-169 Joint Common Missile AGM-169 AGM-169 Abandoned military rocket and missile projects of the United States

Overview

Development

Program status

See also

References

External links