BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill (APK) guidance set for the Hydra 70 unguided rocket is getting an evolutionary iteration as the business works towards defeating the interceptor-to-threat expense ratio and UAS threat.
It was on display at the Sea Air Space 2025 conference in National Harbor, Maryland.Dave Smialek, Director of Business Development in Precision Guidance - & Sensing Solutions at BAE Systems, discussed the dual-mode APKWS II setup on the flooring of the Navy Leagues Sea Air Space 2025exhibition.
Were working on what we call a dual-mode seeker.
So, its an infrared applicant on top of the basic APK [ WS II] And the function is to increase the rate of fire, Smialek described.
Now youll still lase the target.
Youll do an anoint and shoot.
Rather than having to hold the lase for the period [ of the flight], from launch to terminal, you can now anoint your target, fire the rocket, [it] heads out, [and the] infrared seeker gets the target.Then you can transfer to your next target, do the same thing, he continued.Its all about increasing the rate of fire and doing a type of a pseudo fire-and-forget capability.So, to summarize, an operator would at first lase the target to lock the infrared hunter onto it.
Then after shooting, the brand-new APKWS variant would take a trip to its target autonomously.
This is a significant increase in performance over needing to preserve a laser lock on the target throughout the weapons flight.
BAEs Smialek even more described the dual-mode APKWS II as a next-generation evolution of the munition.
The standard setup consists of a laser guidance package slotted in between among a variety of warhead alternatives and a basic 70mm rocket motor.Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, at left, takes a look at a mock-up of a basic laser-guided APKWS II rocket at BAE Systems cubicle at Sea Air Space 2025 Howard AltmanThis arrangement has actually been essential to helping keep the overall system expense of the munitions down, along with enabling making use of existing warhead and rocket motor stocks.
The price point for the laser assistance unit is between $15,000 to $20,000, with the other parts usually adding another couple of thousand dollars to the overall cost.Putting the infrared applicant on the nose of the dual-mode APKWS II is prompting changes to the warhead plan, which BAE Systems is still working out.When we go to the dual mode, well go to a mid-body warhead.
Were going through lethality research studies now that are revealing really no impact to [the] end video game, Smialek stated.
Actually, the lethality analysis is revealing that youre getting potentially a higher blast-frag [mentation] pattern.
You need to have no loss of lethality based on the mid-body warhead.How the brand-new warhead setup, together with the extra infrared seeker, will affect the unit expense of the dual-mode APKWS II compared to the standard variation is uncertain.
Smialek said that the new variation is being established with an eye towards keeping the cost used by the initial design.Even if the dual-mode APKWS II is 2 or 3 times more pricey than laser-guided-only types, it would still be substantially cheaper than traditional air-to-air and surface-to-air rockets.
Present generationAIM-9X SidewindersandAIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles(AMRAAM) air-to-air rockets have price around $450,000 and $1 million, respectively.
The most recent versions of theStinger short-range man-portable surface-to-air missilereportedly each expense around $400,000, whilehigher-end interceptorslike the PatriotPAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) have a cost of near $4.2 million.Dual-mode APKWS II will also maintain the magazine depth benefits that the standard variation currently uses, which once again have specific value in the air-to-air function.
A traditional air-to-air for the F-16, for instance, is just six rockets.
Switching simply among those rockets for a set of seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, something wehave seen on Vipers operatingin the Red Sea region, more than triples the variety of overall engagement chances that the jet has on a single sortie.The addition of the infrared seeker to the proven APKWS II plan raises the possibility of future models of the style, too, though BAEs Smialek says that the business is presently concentrated on the new dual-mode configuration.
The business says it is targeting completion of 2026 to a minimum of have the advancement of the brand-new version of the APKWS II, which is presently being internally moneyed, mostly concluded.
When a branch of the United States military or any other clients might field it remains unknown.The mock-up of the dual-mode APKWS II with the extra infrared seeker BAE Systems showed at Sea Air Space 2025 -Jamie HunterThe next generation APK assistance package adds an infrared candidate to the nose of the rocket for dual mode candidate capability.
It develops on the capabilities delivered by the FALCO upgrade program which was provided to fight airplane in the Middle East to significantly enhance counter-UAS capabilities.FALCO-upgraded APKWS rockets were used in the shootdown of a Houthi UAS in March 2025.
Naval News understands that FALCO software application upgrades were delivered as part of functional requirements needed to increase lethality in air-to-air engagements.
Those rockets are actively being utilized in the Red Sea with a high possibility of kill.Naval Newsunderstands that the delivered FALCO program, or the Fixed Wing, Air Launched, Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ordnance program, looked for to deliver a more capable air-to-air APKWS rocket to warfighters for an emerging functional need.
The software application upgrade was rolled out flawlessly and allowed a considerable enhancement in ability against UAS targets.FALCO is a dedicated counter-UAS program in the United States Air Force.
It is not immediately clear if posts have actually been provided to the United States Navy or global clients, though a sale of FALCO APKWS rockets was authorized to Saudi Arabia in March.The next-generation APKWS will develop on those delivered FALCO capabilities while adding an enhanced counter-UAS infrared seeker.The new APK package has actually currently entered initial screening, funded by the United States Air Force.
BAE plans on continuing development of the brand-new assistance set due to the fact that of its demonstrated efficiency jump compared to its predecessor, APKWS II.APKWSis integrated with over 45 platformsincluding the United States Navys MH-60S/ R Seahawk and United States Marine Corps UH-1, AH-1, and MV-22 rotary wing platforms.
The combination of infrared directed APKWS rockets would permit rotary wing platforms to serve in fleet defense or expeditionary air defense functions while still performing objective sets like anti-submarine warfare or troop transport.Sources: Naval News; The War Zone