USN bolsters Laser Maverick stockpile

Marina Malenic, Washington, DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

16 October 2014

   

A Boeing F/A-18C Hornet lands on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush (CVN 77) following a sortie over Iraq in August 2014. The aircraft is seen carrying a Maverick missile on its outboard underwing pylon. Source: US Navy

Key Points

• The USN is purchasing more AGM-65E2/L laser-guided Maverick close-air-support missiles
• The out-of-production laser-guided Maverick was recently reconstituted by the USAF as a result of operational experience during Operation 'Iraqi Freedom'

The US Navy (USN) has awarded Raytheon a USD55 million production contract for AGM-65E2/L laser-guided Maverick close-air-support missiles, the company announced on 16 October.

Able to engage targets with more accuracy and from longer ranges than its conventional variant, the out-of-production laser-guided Maverick was recently reconstituted by the US Air Force (USAF) as a result of operational experience during Operation 'Iraqi Freedom', where it was used on the USAF's Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft. In USAF service, the laser-guided Maverick is designated the AGM-65L. The munition allows pilots "to engage today's fast-moving, agile targets," USN Captain Albert Mousseau Jr, the military's Laser Maverick programme manager, said in a 16 October press statement.

Enhancements to the new version of the weapon include: a digital laser seeker, updated software, and precision engagement capability for land- and sea-based high-speed moving targets, according to Raytheon. "The enhanced Laser Maverick provides … even greater capabilities that will meet today's and tomorrow's threats," Mike Jarrett, Raytheon's air warfare systems vice-president, said in a press statement.

The USN earlier this year announced that it was converting its existing stockpile of AGM-65A/B Maverick air-to-surface missiles to the laser-guided AGM-65E2 configuration under a USD49.5 million contract awarded to Raytheon on 3 September. This conversion of 500 missiles is under way through January 2017.

Raytheon officials have previously told IHS Jane's that, while the newer AGM-65E2 looks physically identical to the older AGM-65A/B, they are actually completely different missiles inside. "Although this missile shares the same nomenclature as those [Mavericks] produced in the 1980s, it is really a completely new missile," they said. "The range acuity has been increased two-fold over the older missile, meaning that pilots can now really stand off from a target."

The new Laser Maverick buy and ongoing conversions should provide the navy with a steady supply of precision-guided munitions until the replacement Joint Air-to-Ground Missile enters service after 2016.