Working with the British DSTL(Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) and with MBDA, Lockheed Martin had already presented a Vertical Launch approach for the long range anti-tank missile capability within the context of the British Army’s Mounted Close Combat Overwatch (MCCO) requirement.

The concepts prepared at the time included a Mission Module for BOXER containing the VLS cells and a sensor head on a telescopic mast; and an analogous solution installed within a normal container to be moved on the battlefield by trucks.

At DSEI, working with Rheinmetall’s FUCHS 6x6 vehicle, Lockheed Martin has chosen to display the system in real size, using not MBDA BRIMSTONE effectors but its own JAGM Medium Range missiles.

The high-roof structure on the back of the FUCHS contains 24 JAGM MR missiles in 6 quad-cell packs, giving this unique “tank-killer” a formidable firepower on ranges of around 16-20 km.

In their VLS, which Lockheed Martin has been able to mature thanks in particular to the integration of vertical launch HELLFIRE on the US Navy’s LCS ships, the missiles are better insulated from vibration and battlefield hazards. An electro-optic sensor on a telescopic mast gives the system some self-contained ability to autonomously scan the battlefield for targets but the missiles used can be simply fired at an area and left to find their targets autonomously.

The idea of having the same system on BOXER remains, of course, in play and the stand had a model of the equivalent Mission Module installed on the 8x8. The number of VLS cells in the model is unchanged from the relatively smaller FUCHS, however, which calls into question the merit of using the larger vehicle.

It’s not immediately clear who Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin are targeting with this debut: Germany has picked BRIMSTONE for Air Force use and is likely to favour the use of BRIMSTONE was their long range anti-tank requirement ever to take this direction. Germany has also notoriously picked the Patria 6x6 as its intended FUCHS replacement.

Similar observations apply in regard to the UK’s Mounted Close Combat Overwatch project, which remains operational and supposed to get to a selection in the near future.

Of course, this demonstration will attract the interest of many other potential customers, and will – indirectly – reaffirm LM’s readiness to offer a vertical launch solution, even using a different missile.

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