| SLAMRAAM | |
|---|---|
| Type | Surface-to-air missile system |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2008–2011 |
| Used by | United States Army (planned) |
| Wars | None (program canceled before deployment) |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Raytheon, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace |
| Manufacturer | Raytheon, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace |
| Unit cost | Approximately $623 million (program cost) |
| Variants | SLAMRAAM-ER (Extended Range) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Approximately 150 kg (missile) |
| Length | 3.66 m (missile) |
| Diameter | 0.18 m (missile) |
| Engine | Solid-fuel rocket motor |
| Maximum speed | Mach 4 |
Guidance system | Inertial guidance with active radar homing |
Launch platform | Humvee (M1152A1 HMMWV),HIMARS |
TheSLAMRAAM (Surface Launched Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM) was theUnited States Army program to develop aHumvee-basedsurface-to-air missile launcher for theAIM-120 AMRAAM missile, manufactured byRaytheon Technologies andKongsberg Defence & Aerospace. Surface-launched AMRAAM missile was first used in Kongsberg'sNASAMS air defense system, fielded in 1995.[1]
Although the US Army canceled the SLAMRAAM program in 2011, the mobile launcher became part of NASAMS configuration options.
TheNorwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), developed byKongsberg Defence & Aerospace, consists of a number of vehicle-pulled batteries (containing six AMRAAM launch containers each) along with separate radar trucks and control station vehicles.
The US Marine Corps conducted trial of surface-launched AMRAAM missiles during 1997, demonstrating intercept ranges of over 15 km. In April 2001, the Marines awarded Raytheon a contract for the development of the Complementary Low-Altitude Weapon System (CLAWS), with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace as a subcontractor and Boeing as the developer of fire and control shelter. In 2006, the USMC terminated the CLAWS program as part of spending cuts.[2]
In February 2004, theUS Army Aviation and Missile Command awarded Raytheon a contract to develop SL-AMRAAM. In 2007-2008,Raytheon successfully tested launching AMRAAM missiles from a six-missile launch rails on a M1097Humvee.[2] They also added the capability to fireAIM-9X Sidewinder from the launcher. The missiles receive their initial guidance information from a radar not mounted on the vehicle.
In 2008, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested the purchasing of SLAMRAAM as part of a larger 7 billion dollar foreign military sales package; the sale would include 288 AMRAAM C-7 missiles.[3]
In 2009 the US Army test fired the SL-AMRAAM from aHIMARS artillery rocket launcher as a common launcher, as part of a move to switch to a larger and more survivable launch platform.[4][5]
Since the missile is launched without the benefit of an aircraft's speed or high altitude, its range is considerably shorter.[citation needed] Although theengagement range for AMRAAM is estimated to be 75 km for AIM-120B and over 105 km for AIM-120C-5, these ranges are provided for head-on encounters by fast moving aircraft at an altitude, and the range is significantly shorter when the same missiles are launched from stationary ground platforms. Further dimensioning for a stationary ground-launched-missile system is its maximum altitude reach, which by rule of thumb is one third of its maximum horizontal range.[citation needed]
On January 6, 2011,Secretary of DefenseRobert Gates announced that the U.S. Army has decided to terminate acquisition of the SLAMRAAM as part of a budget-cutting effort.[6]
The National Guard Association of the United States has sent a letter asking for the United States Senate to stop the Army's plan to drop the SLAMRAAM program because without it there would be no path to modernize the Guard'sAN/TWQ-1 Avenger Battalions.[7]
A more recent version of the SLAMRAAM program is the NASAMSHigh Mobility Launcher made in cooperation with Kongsberg, where the launch-vehicle is aHumvee (M1152A1 HMMWV), containing four AMRAAMs and twoAIM-9X Sidewinder Block II each.[8] First HML launchers were delivered to the Norwegian Army in 2013.
