Italy Joins ATK and the U.S. Navy in the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Development Program

The Italian Ministry of Defense has signed an agreement with ATK and the U.S. Navy to jointly develop the advanced anit-radiation Guided Missile (AARGM)

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. defense contractor Alliant Techsystems announced today that a Memorandum of Agreement between the Italian Ministry of Defense and U.S. Department of Defense has been signed establishing a partnership for the joint development of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM).

AARGM is the follow-on to the High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM). It will greatly enhance the warfighter's capability to defeat enemy air defenses and strike other time sensitive targets through a cost-effective upgrade to existing HARM missiles.

AARGM and future derivatives may be made available to selected U.S. allies to significantly enhance their respective warfighting capabilities and to improve coalition force interoperability.

"AARGM is assigned the task of defeating enemy air defenses, and when it enters service it will immediately become the most advanced anti-radiation air-to-ground weapon system in the arsenals of the U.S. Navy and participating allied nations," said Captain Mark Converse, USN Program Manager, PMA-242. "We are pleased to welcome Italy to the team and look forward to the many contributions Italian industry will make as we proceed with development."

The Italian Government will provide approximately $20 million of developmental funding. In addition, it will make several million dollars worth of non-financial contributions, including surrogate targets/simulators.

ATK's Italian industry partners will develop, manufacture and deliver real and surrogate air defense systems for use in a dedicated seeker captive flight test program. The cooperative development team will conduct this program at the flight test center at Pratica di Mare, Italy and Sardinia range facilities.

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