( DN ) - The U.S. Army is considering a service-life extension for its arsenal of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), precision-guided land missiles able to pinpoint targets at ranges up to 300 kilometers.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. forces successfully fired 450 of the 13-foot long ATACMS. However, the program was canceled in June for financial reasons. Lockheed, which makes the systems, is still delivering an $18 million ATACMS order for 23 missiles from last year.
Lockheed is now discussing a missile upgrade with the Army.
"We would replace the bomblets with a 500-pound unitary warhead," said Buster Thrasher, program manager with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
There is joint involvement in the ATACMS program, Thrasher said. Since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, 58 percent of the requests for ATACMS came from the Air Force.
"It [ATACMS] is the only long-range precision weapon that the military has out to 300 kilometers," Thrasher said.
The ATACMS reaches targets with GPS and inertial guidance technology, similar to the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.