An upgraded AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile successfully foiled a decoy emitter and destroyed its intended radar target in a recent live-shot test at the Utah Test and Training Range, Raytheon announced. The HARM control section modification upgrade “improves the probability of a hit, defeats counter-HARM tactics, and controls where the missile can and cannot fly,” company Air Warfare Systems Vice President Mike Jarrett said in a release. The test launch from an F-16 is part of ongoing Air Force and company trials aimed at judging the upgrade’s suitability for operational use. The upgrade gives the missile improved GPS and inertial guidance, anti-counter measure performance, and reduced risk of collateral damage, according to the company. The Air Force awarded the upgrade contract in 2012, and recently cleared the upgrade for full production. Some 4,000 HARM variants have been employed for suppression of enemy air defenses in combat to date, according to the company.
The latest round of environmental sampling for the Air Force’s Missile Community Cancer Study found trace amounts of potentially harmful chemicals called volatile organic compounds in the service’s ICBM facilities, but not at levels that would pose a health hazard, Air Force Global Strike Command announced Oct. 22.