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NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland—U.S. Air Force special operators confirmed on Sept. 14 that a new low-cost cruise missile launched from a Lockheed Martin AC-130J met operational requirements during a recent test staged during a real combat operation in Africa.
The live firings of two Leidos AGM-190 Havoc Spear missiles confirmed that the 400-nm-range, air-launched weapon is “accurate and effective” in the test configuration, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) said in a news release. The test involved firings on stationary targets. Further details of the combat operation were not released.
Lt. Gen Mike Conley, the AFSOC commander, credited the AGM-190 as a “versatile tool” that keeps crew at a safe standoff range during combat.
“It’s also not lost on us the value of being able to test a new weapon system in combat—and prove its success on the battlefield early on in the process,” Conley added.
The AGM-190 is in the vanguard of a new wave of low-cost cruise missiles that can be produced in the thousands every year.
Speaking to reporters Sept 14. at the Air, Space and Cyber conference here, Leidos Chief Technology Officer Doug Jones said the company hopes to leverage the successful combat test as a ground-launched variant of the Havoc Spear is competing for a follow-on order in the Army’s Low-Cost Containerized Missile program.
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