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Aviation
defence equipment technology - TOW 2A RF fired from AH-1W |
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| TOW 2A RF practice missiles successfully fired from an AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter | |||
In
the first of its kind launch, Raytheon Company fired tube-launched, optically-tracked,
wireless-guided (TOW®) 2A radio frequency (RF) practice missiles from
an AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter during a December exercise, the
US-based company said yesterday, March 30. |
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 US Marine Corps' Bell AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter |
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Raytheon, working with the Naval Air Systems Command,
fired two TOW 2A RF practice missiles at ranges exceeding 2600 meters.
The two tests verified the missile's capability to be fired from a hovering
aircraft and from an aircraft maneuvering to a threat. Both missiles
hit their targets within inches of the aimpoints.
"Wire-guided TOW missiles have been fired from helicopters for years," said Michelle Lohmeier, vice president of Raytheon's Land Warfare Systems. "These shots demonstrate RF capability to be fired off platforms used with wired TOWs without modifications." The TOW 2A RF missile is designed to be compatible with all TOW launch systems with no changes to the gunner's actions. While TOW RF is routinely fired from ground platforms, it had not been fired from an airborne platform until now. "Airborne TOW has always been an integral part
of combined-arms operations such as coastal defense missions,"
said Lohmeier. "These shots demonstrate that TOW 2A RF is fully
capable of defeating modern threat targets and will be a viable asset
of a nation's arsenal for the foreseeable future." |
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TOW 2A RF practice missiles successfully fired from an AH-1W Cobra attack helicopter
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