Bifalgorithm post

The US Army is pushing ahead with a missile design to do something surprisingly simple. Replace several different weapons with one smarter air-to-ground missile. The result is the AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile, or JAGM, now in full-rate production and being integrated across multiple platforms. JAGM is essentially what happens when engineers take the lessons of Hellfire and Longbow and put them into a single weapon. Its biggest trick is hidden in the nose. Instead of relying on just one guidance method, J-AGM uses a multi-mode seeker combining semi-active laser guidance with millimeter wave radar. That means it can engage targets with precision laser designation or use radar for fire and forget attacks, including against moving targets and in poor weather or battlefield obscuration. And underneath that new brain is some very familiar hardware. JAGM leverages the proven Hellfire II missile architecture, including its propulsion, war, and control sections. The baseline missile weighs roughly 115 pounds and has a range of more than 8 kilometers. It's designed to hit everything from armored vehicles and air defense systems to bunkers, buildings, and maritime targets. But the really interesting part is where JAGM is going next. JAGM-MR is being developed to push range beyond 16 km, while JAGM-F adapts the concept for fast jets, including aircraft such as the F-15E, F-16 and F-35. So, JAGM isn't simply another hellfire. It's the Pentagon's attempt to turn one missile into a whole family of precision weapons.

The US Army is pushing ahead with a missile design to do something surprisingly simple. Replace several different weapons with one smarter air-to-ground missil…