12 October 2021

BAE Systems demos APKWS II in CUAS role

by Robin Hughes

Computer-generated image of an APKWS II 70mm/2.75 inch laser-guided rocket in a surface-launched CUAS role. (BAE Systems)

BAE Systems has demonstrated its AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) 70mm/2.75 inch laser-guided rocket system in a surface-to-air counter-unmanned aircraft system (CUAS) role.

In a company-funded event conducted at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in June, APKWS II rockets fired from a remote weapon station (RWS)-mounted four-cell rocket launcher defeated undisclosed Class 2 UAS systems in a series of precision strike tests. “BAE Systems conducted test fires and engineering tests to develop a capable system for US armed forces and allies,” the company said in a release.

APKWS is a design conversion, which equips the Hydra 70 unguided rocket (or other 70 mm/2.75-inch unguided rockets) with a laser guidance kit to turn it into precision-guided munition. The APKWS II uses BAE Systems' Distributed Aperture Semi-Active Laser Seeker mid-body modular guidance section, in which a laser seeker is located in the leading edge of each of the deployed forward control canards, working in unison as a single seeker. This configuration provides a 40° instantaneous forward-looking field of regard, and allows existing warheads from the Hydra 70 system to be used without the need for a laser seeker in the nose of the missile. The canards are embedded in the body of APKWS II, and deploy once the munition has been fired.

BAE Systems has demonstrated its AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) 70mm/2....

Jane's Find unrivaled intelligence, consultancy and advertising solutions to the defence and national security sectors.