Marine AH-1Z Attack Helicopter’s Mystery Missiles Identified

Previously chartless munitions seen loaded connected the stub wings of a U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper onslaught chopper successful a representation released earlier this twelvemonth person been identified. They are members of L3Harris’ modular Red Wolf household of ‘launched effects,’ which tin beryllium configured arsenic weapons, arsenic good arsenic for non-kinetic roles, including arsenic connection relay nodes. At present, the Marines chiefly spot Red Wolf arsenic a way to giving its AH-1Zs an all-new standoff onslaught capableness against targets connected onshore and astatine oversea that could assistance guarantee the relevance of the helicopters successful aboriginal high-end fights.

Marine Col. Scott Shadforth named Red Wolf arsenic the munition his work is present moving nether its Long Range Attack Missile (LRAM) task during a presumption astatine the yearly Modern Day Marine exposition earlier today, astatine which TWZ was successful attendance. Shadforth is presently caput of Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) Expeditionary and Maritime Aviation-Advanced Development Team (XMA-ADT). He besides provided further details astir LRAM, which helium described arsenic a “defense innovator accelerator” effort feeding into a larger programme of grounds called the Precision Attack Strike Missile (PASM).

In February, NAVAIR released the aforementioned representation of the Red Wolf-toting AH-1Z, seen astatine the apical of this communicative and below, astatine which clip the munitions were identified lone arsenic “a caller Long Range Precision Fire (LRPF) capability.” L3Harris had besides softly identified Red Wolf straight arsenic the munition seen successful the representation successful a merchandise earlier this month. A Marine AH-1Z has conducted astatine slightest 1 palmy trial motorboat of a Red Wolf.

“So, the existent [LRAM] effort that ADT is moving connected close present is based connected L3Harris’ Red Wolf,” Shadforth said astatine Modern Day Marine successful nonstop effect to a question from TWZ‘s Howard Altman. “So mostly speaking, range-wise, you’re looking astatine debased triple-digit scope capableness connected it and double-digit clip of flight.”

Shadforth did not specify immoderate units of measure, but the Marines person talked astir a maximum scope of astatine slightest 150 nautical miles (just implicit 170 miles oregon astir 278 kilometers) for LRAM/PASM successful the past. Assuming “double-digit clip of flight” present is measured successful minutes, this would mean Red Wolf has a subsonic cruising speed.

Other details astir the Red Wolf family, and the circumstantial mentation that the Marines are experimenting with now, stay limited. Red Wolf was primitively developed successful concealed for the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), and it archetypal emerged publically astatine the U.S. Army’s Experimentation Demonstration Gateway Event successful 2021 (EDGE 21). Aviation Week reported astatine the clip that the Red Wolf demonstrated astatine EDGE 21 was a six-foot-long plan powered by an unspecified German-made turbojet and susceptible of being launched by an MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone, but nary pictures were released.

However, “for awareness, we person respective derivatives of the baseline that person flown and supply for a assortment of ranges, payloads and capabilities,” L3Harris told TWZ successful Febraury erstwhile asked for much details astir what was seen successful the representation NAVAIR had released. “For awareness, L3Harris has developed a household of products to code long-range precision occurrence requirements for manned and unmanned platforms that volition code a assortment of lawsuit demands.”

At that time, the institution had declined to sanction what it had supplied to the Marine Corps. The XMA-ADT has besides drawn a transportation betwixt LRAM and an unspecified Air Force munition successful the past, but Col. Shadforth said contiguous helium was personally unaware of that.

“The astir important facet is that we’re present giving VTOL [vertical takeoff and landing] platforms important standoff [capability] that they’ve ne'er had before, being capable to present precision fires much oregon little implicit the horizon,” Col. Shadforth said today.

As TWZ has noted successful erstwhile reporting connected LRAM/PASM, a munition with a maximum scope of astir 170 miles would dramatically widen the scope of Marine AH-1s. The missiles disposable to those helicopters now, AGM-114 Hellfires and AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM), person maximum ranges of nether 10 miles. Hellfires and JAGMs with tripled and doubled ranges, respectively, person been tested, but that inactive falls acold abbreviated of what the Marines are aiming for with LRAM/PASM.

Shadforth besides highlighted broader implications of the LRAM effort and the follow-on PASM programme of record, including employing thing similar Red Wolf successful roles beyond that of an air-launched munition. Interestingly, the Red Wolf demonstrated astatine EDGE 21 was employed not arsenic a munition, but arsenic a awesome relay, according to Aviation Week.

“The accidental that LRAM provides is the modularity that tin travel with it. So kinetic [and] non-kinetic capabilities,” Shadforth said. “And past we tin surely get into an unfastened statement of, is it a weapon? Is it an air-launched effect? Is it a UAS [uncrewed aerial system; drone]? How are we defining those capabilities?”

In caller years, the Marine Corps has already been experimenting with handing disconnected power of long-range loitering munitions betwixt aerial platforms, arsenic good arsenic forces astatine oversea and connected the ground, to prosecute targets astatine extended ranges. Red Wolf ‘launched effects’ configured arsenic communications relay nodes could assistance further widen connectivity for Marine forces, including into much contested environments, and without putting a crewed level astatine greater risk. They could besides supply different non-kinetic effects similar physics warfare jamming.

“Being capable to use that capability, not needfully having to interruption into the hard operation of the aerial vehicle, but putting it each connected tablet, and controlling being tablet-based means,” is different important facet of the LRAM effort, according to Shadforth. In February, NAVAIR had noted the usage of the Marine Air-Ground Tablet (MAGTAB) arsenic portion of the investigating of the then-unidentified munitions connected the AH-1Z.

The usage of a MAGTAB-based power system, successful turn, could unfastened pathways to much accelerated integration of further munitions and different capabilities onto the AH-1 and different Marine aircraft. Tablet-based power systems person been utilized successful Ukraine to assistance adhd Western precision munitions to the arsenals of that country’s Soviet-era combat jets. They person besides been employed successful Turkey arsenic portion of the integration of locally developed weapons onto U.S.-made F-16 Viper fighters.

Overall, what we cognize astir LRAM/PASM continues to align with what Marine Col. Nathan Marvel told TWZ in an interrogation backmost successful 2023, wherever helium laid retired a lawsuit for the continued relevance of the AH-1Z, arsenic good arsenic the UH-1Y, particularly successful the discourse of a imaginable aboriginal large combat against China successful the Pacific. At that time, Marvel was successful complaint of Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39) based astatine Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton successful California. He went connected to go caput of the Rapid Capabilities Office and Science and Technology Directorate wrong the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL).

“I was a spot frustrated astir the speech they were having astir what the adjacent combat looks like. It was astir a combat with a adjacent rival and the distances we had implicit h2o with China and that H-1s were not going to beryllium there,” Marvel said successful 2023. “I was similar yes they are. Not lone are we going to beryllium determination but we are going to beryllium close beside the Marines successful the tract due to the fact that that’s what we do.”

“Coming backmost to that interoperability, it’s aggregate pathways and aggregate waveforms. I don’t deliberation we accidental termination chains anymore, due to the fact that it’s not a linkage of nodes, it’s a linkage of webs,” helium added. “We whitethorn precise good beryllium an enabler wherever you’re pushing information done america via dependable and oregon information and we whitethorn precise good beryllium the extremity of that termination web oregon that termination concatenation enabler arsenic well. We whitethorn archer idiosyncratic wherever thing is truthful they tin spell termination it oregon we support custody oregon idiosyncratic whitethorn archer america wherever thing is truthful we tin spell termination it similar we person traditionally done. Interoperability is simply a immense absorption for us.”

“We are going to beryllium capable to transportation a Potpourri of weapons. It would not beryllium unheard of to bent immoderate exquisite fixed-wing combatant weapons connected the wing-stub of a cobra and bring that to a fight,” Marvel continued. “It whitethorn beryllium a loitering limb oregon possibly an exquisite pod that does lone definite things that we’re utilized to seeing connected fixed-wing craft and bring that to the combat and enactment that down astatine the rotor helping level to alteration the battlespace commandant and the maneuver constituent commandant to bash things that they whitethorn oregon whitethorn not person thought they could bash before. So that’s benignant of wherever we are with capabilities buildup.”

Whether oregon not Red Wolf is what the Marines yet prime for the PASM programme of grounds remains to beryllium seen.

“Right now, we’re focused connected the Red Wolf arsenic portion of the [LRAM] task that we’re moving connected close now. However, we’re precise open-minded and ever support our ears to the crushed to thing other that mightiness beryllium a viable solution down the road,” Col. Shadforth noted today.

Long-range ‘launched effects’ and tiny cruise missiles are a rapidly expanding and often overlapping country of weapons development, and determination are apt to beryllium a increasing array of options that mightiness besides conscionable the Marines’ PASM needs.

In the meantime, L3Harris’ Red Wolf is astatine slightest helping the Marines laic the groundwork for integrating an important caller standoff onslaught limb onto its AH-1Zs, and 1 that could unfastened the doorway to further capabilities down the line.

Howard Altman contributed to this story.

Contact the author: [email protected]