MGM-166 LOSAT
Encyclopedia
The MGM-166 LOSAT was a U.S.
surface-to-surface missile
system designed by Lockheed Martin
(originally Vought) to defeat tank
s and other individual targets. Instead of using a High Explosive Anti-Tank
warhead like other anti-tank missiles, the LOSAT employed a solid steel
kinetic energy penetrator
to punch through armor. The LOSAT is fairly light; it was designed to be mounted onto a Humvee while allowing the vehicle to remain air-portable. LOSAT eventually emerged on an extended-length heavy-duty Humvee with a hard-top containing four KEMs used by special operations. Although LOSAT never "officially" entered service, it was used for the smaller Compact Kinetic Energy Missile
.
project, the HVM
. HVM was a multi-platform weapon supported by the US Air Force for their A-10
, and by the US Army and US Marine Corp for helicopters and other vehicles. HVM offered performance similar to existing systems like the AGM-114 Hellfire
, but offered a semi-fire-and-forget operation through the use of FLIR tracking and guidance commands sent to it via a low-power laser. It could be carried on any platform that had FLIR support, with the self-contained command guidance system able to be carried externally, or potentially integrated into existing target designators. The ending of the Cold War
led to the Air Force pulling out of the project, and development work on HVM appears to have ended in the late 1980s.
To fill AAWS-H, Vought developed a slightly larger extended-range version of HVM known as KEM (Kinetic Energy Missile), while their partner, Texas Instruments
, provided a new FLIR targeting system that they were already working on as a TOW upgrade. Several vehicles were studied to mount the system, including the front-runner M2 Bradley
, as well as the M8 Armored Gun System. However, in order to lower costs and improve airmobility in a post-Cold War world, LOSAT eventually emerged on an extended-length heavy-duty Humvee with a hard-top containing four KEMs ready to fire, along with a trailer containing another eight rounds in two-round packs. The new guidance system could keep two missiles in flight to separate targets, allowing the vehicle to salvo fire its weapons against a tank squadron in a few seconds. Reaching speeds of 5,000 ft/s, LOSAT was in the air for under four seconds between launch and maximum range targets, making counterfire extremely difficult. The range was beyond that of existing main tank guns, allowing the LOSAT to fire and run before the tanks could manoeuvrer into a position to return fire.
The first KEMs were test fired in 1990 and a contract for continued development was placed by the Army. This was much slower in pace, and it was only in 1997 that an Advanced Technology Concept Demonstrator program started to bring the system to production quality. The contract called for 12 LOSAT vehicles and 144 KEMs, which were to be delivered by 2003. Even before this contract was complete, the Army asked for a production run of another 108 missiles In August 2002. The first of the 12 LOSAT units was delivered to the US Army in October 2002 and the system began a series of 18 production-qualification test firings in August 2003, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. By March 2004 18 KEMs had been fired at targets under a variety of conditions, both during the day and night. Another 8 were fired in the summer of 2004 at Fort Bliss
as part of a user-testing exercise.
(or CKEM), based on the LOSAT concepts but smaller and lighter, more in tune with real-world threats. As it turned out, even the LRIP contract was never funded, and the LOSAT program terminated.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
surface-to-surface missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
system designed by Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
(originally Vought) to defeat tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s and other individual targets. Instead of using a High Explosive Anti-Tank
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
warhead like other anti-tank missiles, the LOSAT employed a solid steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
kinetic energy penetrator
Kinetic energy penetrator
A kinetic energy penetrator is a type of ammunition which, like a bullet, does not contain explosives and uses kinetic energy to penetrate the target....
to punch through armor. The LOSAT is fairly light; it was designed to be mounted onto a Humvee while allowing the vehicle to remain air-portable. LOSAT eventually emerged on an extended-length heavy-duty Humvee with a hard-top containing four KEMs used by special operations. Although LOSAT never "officially" entered service, it was used for the smaller Compact Kinetic Energy Missile
Compact Kinetic Energy Missile
The Compact Kinetic Energy Missile is a developmental program to produce a hypersonic anti-tank guided missile for the U.S. Army. Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor. The program is the third in a series of projects based on kinetic energy missiles that stretches back to 1981s Vought HVM...
.
HVM
LOSAT developed out on an earlier VoughtVought
Vought is the name of several related aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace , Vought Aircraft Companies, and the current Vought Aircraft Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M...
project, the HVM
Vought HVM
Vought's HVM, short for Hyper-Velocity Missile, was an anti-tank missile developed during the 1980s. The HVM carried no warhead, and killed its targets with kinetic energy alone using a metal penetrator...
. HVM was a multi-platform weapon supported by the US Air Force for their A-10
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
, and by the US Army and US Marine Corp for helicopters and other vehicles. HVM offered performance similar to existing systems like the AGM-114 Hellfire
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile developed primarily for anti-armor use. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike capability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision...
, but offered a semi-fire-and-forget operation through the use of FLIR tracking and guidance commands sent to it via a low-power laser. It could be carried on any platform that had FLIR support, with the self-contained command guidance system able to be carried externally, or potentially integrated into existing target designators. The ending of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
led to the Air Force pulling out of the project, and development work on HVM appears to have ended in the late 1980s.
AAWS-H
At about the same time, in 1988, the Army released a new requirement for a ground-based anti-tank system, known as Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System - Heavy, or AAWS-H for short. AAWS-H specified an air-liftable lightweight system with the capability to knock out any existing or near-future tank outside its own gun range. The TOW missile could be guided from concealed locations, but did not offer the needed range and its relatively slow flight speeds (~250 m/s as opposed to 1650 for HVM) left it vulnerable while the missile was in-flight.To fill AAWS-H, Vought developed a slightly larger extended-range version of HVM known as KEM (Kinetic Energy Missile), while their partner, Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
, provided a new FLIR targeting system that they were already working on as a TOW upgrade. Several vehicles were studied to mount the system, including the front-runner M2 Bradley
M2 Bradley
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is an American fighting vehicle platform manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, formerly United Defense.As with other infantry fighting vehicles, the Bradley is designed to transport infantry with armor protection while providing covering fire to suppress enemy...
, as well as the M8 Armored Gun System. However, in order to lower costs and improve airmobility in a post-Cold War world, LOSAT eventually emerged on an extended-length heavy-duty Humvee with a hard-top containing four KEMs ready to fire, along with a trailer containing another eight rounds in two-round packs. The new guidance system could keep two missiles in flight to separate targets, allowing the vehicle to salvo fire its weapons against a tank squadron in a few seconds. Reaching speeds of 5,000 ft/s, LOSAT was in the air for under four seconds between launch and maximum range targets, making counterfire extremely difficult. The range was beyond that of existing main tank guns, allowing the LOSAT to fire and run before the tanks could manoeuvrer into a position to return fire.
The first KEMs were test fired in 1990 and a contract for continued development was placed by the Army. This was much slower in pace, and it was only in 1997 that an Advanced Technology Concept Demonstrator program started to bring the system to production quality. The contract called for 12 LOSAT vehicles and 144 KEMs, which were to be delivered by 2003. Even before this contract was complete, the Army asked for a production run of another 108 missiles In August 2002. The first of the 12 LOSAT units was delivered to the US Army in October 2002 and the system began a series of 18 production-qualification test firings in August 2003, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. By March 2004 18 KEMs had been fired at targets under a variety of conditions, both during the day and night. Another 8 were fired in the summer of 2004 at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
as part of a user-testing exercise.
Cancellation
By the time the test program was finished it was obvious the Army was going to cancel LOSAT after the low-rate initial production (LRIP) batch of about 435 missiles was delivered. By this point the Army had already started work on a system known as the Compact Kinetic Energy MissileCompact Kinetic Energy Missile
The Compact Kinetic Energy Missile is a developmental program to produce a hypersonic anti-tank guided missile for the U.S. Army. Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor. The program is the third in a series of projects based on kinetic energy missiles that stretches back to 1981s Vought HVM...
(or CKEM), based on the LOSAT concepts but smaller and lighter, more in tune with real-world threats. As it turned out, even the LRIP contract was never funded, and the LOSAT program terminated.