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By Neil Baumgardner
DALLAS--In the wake of the termination of the Block II version of its Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), Lockheed Martin (LMT) is considering arming ATACMS with Textron's (TXT) BLU-108 submunition and its own Low Cost Autonomous Attack System (LOCAAS) to provide a replacement capability to kill armor targets at standoff ranges, according to company officials.
"As FCS (Future Combat Systems) begins to garner more and more importance in the Army, standoff and being able to shape the battlespace will become more and more critical," Ben Collins, the business development manager for fire support with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, told Defense Daily during an interview here. "You don't want an FCS system to engage head on, one-on-one, with a heavy armor unit. The advantage of having either the rocket or the missile with the BLU-108 is you definitely can shape the battlespace and take that armor out."
The FY '03 Defense Appropriations Act terminated the ATACMS Block II program and funding for Northrop Grumman's (NOC) Brilliant Anti- armor (BAT) submunition intended to arm it (Defense Daily, Nov. 20). Low-rate initial production of ATACMS Block II, a total of 96 missiles, is currently scheduled to end in December.
Northrop Grumman is concentrating its efforts on dropping BATs from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and improved versions able to attack moving targets (Defense Daily, Feb. 28). Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, is offering new submunitions for ATACMS in order to meet the long-range anti-armor role.
Collins said Lockheed Martin was working with Textron to offer the BLU-108 for both ATACMS and the Guided Multiple-Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rocket.
"Ourselves along with Textron are trying to develop an all-in- one...