The U.S. Navy signed an agreement with the Australian Government on May 31 to provide its High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) and A...
The U.S. Navy signed an agreement with the Australian Government on May 31 to provide its High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) and Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) training capability as part of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) acquisition of the EA-18G Growler.
The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement with Australia for an AARGM training capability marks the first FMS sale involving the weapon. The AARGM is the U.S. Navy’s medium-range air-to-ground missile for suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses.
AARGM addresses current capability gaps in areas where the U.S. Navy deploys and operates its existing Air-to-Ground Missile, the High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile. Specifically, AARGM defeats multiple countermeasures that have been developed by U.S. adversaries since HARM was deployedin the 1980s.
The weapon will be carried on the U.S. F/A-18C/D, F/A-18E/F, EA-18G and Italian Air Force Tornado Electronic Countermeasures/Reconnaissance (ECR) aircraft. Currently, Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 squadrons areoperating with AARGM.
The RAAF plans to add the HARM and AARGM training capability to their EA-18G aircraft. The Navy and industry partner Alliant Tech Systems (ATK) plan to deliver the capability toAustralians in 2015 to support EA-18G flight testing. Australia announced the decision to acquire 12 EA-18G Growler aircraft in 2012.The AGM-88E AARGM is a medium-range air-to-ground missile employed for Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD).
