Anti-Tank Missile Becomes Anti-Drone Weapon: Lockheed Tests JAGM Against Drones

Lockheed Martin has tested AGM-179 JAGM anti-drone missiles adapted for launch from offshore platforms.

Breaking Defense reported the news.

The tests were conducted from the adapted JAGM Quad Launcher (JQL).

Despite Lockheed’s acknowledgement that the JAGM, which costs about $212,000 per unit (as of 2022), is too expensive to effectively counter large swarms of small drones, the missile still compares favorably with other weapons that are planned or already armed by US Navy ships, including the Patriot and the SM-6 anti-aircraft missile.

This makes the JAGM promising for use against medium and heavy drones, as well as helicopters and airplanes. Especially given that it can even be installed on boats.

The first test, which took place on August 28 at the army’s Yuma test site, was performed with a 45° launch. The missile hit a decommissioned tank.

The next trial is scheduled for November and should test the interception of a drone in flight; Lockheed is already in talks with potential customers.

In addition to the field test, an Army demonstration at Marine Corps Air Station New River showed a successful engagement of a JAGM drone and a number of other missiles fired from AH-64 Apache helicopters – an important step in itself for a missile that was originally developed primarily to destroy tanks.

Based on the results of the tests, Lockheed plans to make a number of software updates to improve the effectiveness of the JAGM in the fight against unmanned platforms.

At the same time, the company emphasizes that the missile will retain its full range of capabilities, including targeting moving ground targets and warships.

It was recently reported that the German defense giant Rheinmetall and the American company Lockheed Martin presented a new anti-tank system Fuchs JAGM.

The new system is based on the modernized Fuchs Evolution armored personnel carrier, which is equipped with a vertical launcher with 24 JAGM missiles.

In addition to the main purpose of destroying armored vehicles, the manufacturer also positions the vehicle to engage air targets thanks to a combined homing head that does not require constant target illumination.