SOFEX 2014: BAE Systems’ David Harold on the APKWS contract with Jordan.

The Jordanian Armed Forces will profit from the system’s high accuracy and very high success rate. Under a 5.5 million dollars contract, BAE Systems will provide an undisclosed number of rockets along with the engineering work required on the aircrafts. The next step will be to conclude the necessary fire testing of the rockets from the platform but the timeframe has not been made known yet. Nevertheless, the company will continue the production of missiles in order to be ready to meet the customer’s requirements.

What David Harold pointed out was that the AC-235 will be equipped with the rocket version for rotary-wing aircraft. A special version that has been calibrated based on the flying envelop of such aircraft.

The advantages of the APKWS are noteworthy. Its low price offers to the user the capability to engage targets at one third of the cost of a larger missile, with a third of the latter’s weight and with high reliability. Transforming a 2.75-inch rocket into an APKWS takes nothing more than twisting the guidance unit into the conventional rocket’s parts, without modifying the platform.

The DASALS (Distributed Aperture Semi-Active Laser Seeker) provides 40 degrees of instantaneous field of regard for a large viewing area, which combined with the long-range allows for the engagement of moving and stationary targets. In addition, the engineers have protected the optics of the rocket from sand, adjacent fire and moisture, prior to launch, by placing them in the middle of the body.

Moreover, as David Harold mentioned, if the laser signal is lost for any reason, the rocket is programmed to hit at the last point that was illuminated, further reducing the chances of collateral damages. As for the effectiveness of the semi-active laser in the maritime environment, he stressed that the multiple tests have proved that the rocket will not be compromised by the haze or the reflection of the sunlight on the sea surface. Further to that, the new generation solid state laser devices offer even better results in such a difficult environments.