To increase the effectiveness of ground attacks for F-16, A-10, attack helicopters... the US decided to spend 618 million USD to buy APKWS high-precision weapons.
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| This information was reported by Defense Tech, citing a source from the US Department of Defense, saying that BAE Systems Group - the US branch of the British defense manufacturer - will provide the Pentagon with over 20,000 high-precision weapon systems (APKWS). |
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| The contract is worth over $130 million over the first three years, and will be extended for several more years after the US Navy begins testing "smart" missile launchers on MH-60R/S Seahawk warships and MH-60 Knighthawk helicopters. |
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| Notably, this weapon is not limited to helicopters. In early 2016, the US Air Force equipped APKWS systems on F-16 fighters and A-10 ground attack aircraft. |
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| According to the manufacturer, APKWS consists of a laser target designator mounted on the aircraft, a steering device integrated into the rocket body and a sensor mounted on the rocket nose. After detecting and locking the target, the launched rocket will be calibrated mid-launch to increase the accuracy of attacking the target. |
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| The US's official integration of APKWS smart rockets onto F-16 fighter jets is good news for countries that own this type of aircraft. |
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| Originally, surface-to-surface missiles and short-range smart bombs used on fighter jets (including the F-16) were very expensive, for example, the AGM-65 Maverick missile cost $110,000/missile. Meanwhile, APKWS is said to cost only about $30,000/missile and could be cheaper when using improved 70mm Hydra rockets (which cost $2,700/missile). |
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| APKWS stands for Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System - it can be understood as a laser guidance accessory kit to upgrade unguided Hydra 70 rockets (70mm, in the photo) into high-precision guided bullets. |
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| Rocket APKWS is considered one of the pioneering solutions to deal with the huge inventory of 70mm rockets, while the price is 1/3 cheaper than other smart weapons, the explosive power of the bullet is also smaller, minimizing damage around the target... |
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| A 70mm Hydra shell weighs 6.2kg, is 1.06m long, and has an effective range of 500 to 8,000m depending on the warhead it carries and whether it is launched from a helicopter or jet launcher... |
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| When installing the APKWS accessory kit, the bullet length increases to 1.87m, wingspan 24.3cm, weight 15kg, firing range reaches 1,100-5,000m with helicopters and up to 11km with fixed-wing aircraft, active laser guidance makes the target deviation radius less than 0.5m. |
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| This integration has resulted in a low-cost smart missile. An F-16 fighter can deploy up to 4 LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket launchers, each pod can hold 7 70mm APKWS, a total of 28 smart rockets can be carried by an F-16. |
According to baodatviet
