| AQM-127 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Target drone |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1984 |
| Manufacturer | Martin Marietta |
| No. built | 15 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg) |
| Length | 17.9 ft (5.47 m) |
| Diameter | 21 in (54 cm) |
| Engine | Marquardt ramjet with integratedThiokol solid rocket booster |
Operational range | 55 nautical miles (102 km; 63 mi) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 2.5 |
TheAQM-127 Supersonic Low-Altitude Target (SLAT) was atarget drone developed during the 1980s byMartin Marietta for use by theUnited States Navy. Derived from Martin Marietta's work on the cancelledASALM missile, SLAT proved to have severe difficulties in flight testing, and the project was cancelled during 1991.
Development of what became the YAQM-127 was initiated in 1983 following the cancellation of theBQM-111 Firebrand. A replacement for theMQM-8 Vandal target drone was still required, and a specification was developed for a target drone, capable of being recovered via parachute and reused, for launch from a variety of aircraft.[1]
Bids for the contract were submitted by Martin Marietta,Ling-Temco-Vought, andTeledyne Ryan,[1] with the Martin Marietta design being judged the winner of the design competition in September 1984.[2] Derived from the cancelledAdvanced Strategic Air-Launched Missile developed by Martin Marietta for the United States Air Force, the missile utilised aMarquardt hybridrocket-ramjet propulsion system, with a solid rocket booster providing initial thrust, with the rocket's chamber, following burnout, becoming the combustion chamber for a ramjet sustainer.[1] The AQM-127 was designed to fly at speeds of Mach 2.5 at an altitude of 30 feet (9 m), following a pre-programmed course on autopilot.[1] The SLAT was to be fitted withradar signature augmentors and a radar seeker emulator;initial operational capability was projected for 1991.[1]
The first test launch of the fifteen YAQM-127A pre-production test missiles produced was conducted on November 20, 1987. A further five test flights were conducted between then and January 1989; however only one of the six tests proved a success.[1] Following a twenty-two month stand-down to reassess the program and modify the missile design, flight testing resumed in November 1990; this test also was a failure, as was a final attempt at a test in May 1991.[1]
With the SLAT proving a consistent failure and the cost of the project increasing dramatically, theUnited States Congress stepped in, and during the summer of 1991 the AQM-127 program was cancelled.[1] The Navy, still requiring a new high-speed target drone to replace the Vandal, would turn to a drone conversion of a Russian missile, theMA-31, as an interim solution. This drone entered service in small numbers during 1999.[3]