Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today tested a new
Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System-Plus (GMLRS+) ‘scalable effects’
warhead, which enables users to select the range of the warhead’s
detonation power depending on the target. “The ‘scalable effects’ warhead was set to low-yield prior to the flight
and scored a direct hit on the target,” said Scott Arnold, vice president
of precision fires in Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business.
“The performance of both the GMLRS+ rocket and the scalable effects
warhead were outstanding, validating our continued investment in evolving
the proven GMLRS weapon system to address current and future threats.” This test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., was the second of two GMLRS+
launches scheduled for 2011. In early August, a GMLRS+ round successfully
completed a 120-kilometer mission, an improvement in range of approximately
50 kilometers over the current GMLRS round. Both tests were internally
funded by Lockheed Martin and Aerojet and were supported by the U.S. Army’s
Precision Fires Program Office. Aerojet, a world-recognized producer of missile and space propulsion
systems and defense armaments, was selected for this test phase as the
GMLRS+ warhead supplier after an evaluation and selection process.