Raytheon and Boeing have released live video footage of the latest JAGM missile for the first time.
On June 23, during the tests, the rocket struck with a direct hit a target measuring 2.4 × 2.4 m, located at a distance of 16 km from the launcher. This test is one of the last steps in the adoption of this ammunition into service.
The video clearly shows how the rocket leaves the launch rail with a climb and strikes the target from a dive. One of the test conditions was testing a three-mode homing head for the effectiveness of target acquisition in all modes: infrared, laser and millimeter radio waves. The three-mode seeker provides high accuracy of hitting the target and a guarantee of protection from any interference.
The JAGM missile should replace the main weapon of helicopters and attack aircraft - the AGM-114 Hellfire and AGM-65 Maverick missiles.
The addition of the JAGM missile to the AH-64 Apache helicopters will seriously change the balance of power on the battlefield. The fact is that modern military air defense systems that protect units deployed on the battlefield have a firing range of about 10 km. So, the newest Russian air defense system Tor-M2U (which will begin to enter the troops in 2011) with "interference" and assumptions in the firing range is only approaching 16 km. An AH-64 with a JAGM can quite safely fire at the air defense system, while also using shelters and folds of the terrain - thanks to the "let it go" principle (that is, it came out from behind cover, launched a rocket and hid again).
Naturally, with the advent of JAGM on the battlefield, the firepower and protection of the helicopter will significantly increase, and the effectiveness of modern military air defense will decrease.
