laststandonzombieisland

One of the big takeaways from the off and on two-year fight with the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Bab-el-Mandeb is that the AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, or APKWS, is damned handy.

Taking your basic Becky level unguided Hydra 70 2.75-inch rocket (which is fundamentally just an update of the WWII era Mk 4/Mk 40 “Might Mouse” Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket), and adding a Distributed Aperture Semi-Active Laser Seeker (DASALS) laser guidance kit, the APKWS suddenly turns into a 33-pound laser-guided precision-kill munition with a 10-pound HE warhead and a “published range” of 11,500 yards.

Plus, they are cheap, at about $30K a pop, which is peanuts for guided ordnance, running a third the cost of even bulk buy Hellfires. Then consider an AIM-9X Sidewinder costs $1.3 million.

And, besides the traditional rotary-wing (AH-1W, UH-1Y, MH-60S/R) and Harrier platforms in USMC/USN service, it has been vetted on the F-18C/D loaded in twin seven-cell LAU-68 F/A pods since 2018.

The USAF has been going APKWS heavy in recent months, with both F-16s and F-15s photographed with six LAU-131A pods, giving them 42 rockets on tap with extra pylons left over for Sidewinders, targeting pods, and fuel tanks.

Several have returned from deployment with drone “kills” stenciled on their sides, which is a telltale of lessons learned.

U.S. Fighter aircraft shoot down Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones with AGR-20 FALCO Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Laser Guided 2.75″ Rockets.#HouthisAreTerrorists pic.twitter.com/bDoVnKwotc

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 19, 2025

Further, L3 Harris has the super low-cost Vampire SAM SHORAD system, which uses quad-packed APKWS that can be mounted on a truck or small (think 25-foot) boat or USV.

It has been very useful in Ukraine.

And don’t even forget to mention the recent tests at Dugway Proving Grounds by BAE of a small (250 pounds, with half that being payload) Malloy TRV-150 UAV VTOL air cargo drone (which is being trialed by the Marines for carrying “Speedball” style battlefield resupply packets) paired with an APKWS.

So you see, between much more use in counter-drone work via F-18s and MH-60s, traditional ground support work by AH-1s and UH-1s, potential use as bolt-on SHORAD systems for assets like LCS and LPDs, and use in UAVs and USVs, the Navy wants a whole lot more APKWS on hand (with extras for the Army and friends overseas), because you never know.

Yesterday’s contract announcement (emphasis mine):

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems, Hudson, New Hampshire, is awarded a $1,743,038,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the production and delivery of up to 55,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II Full Rate Production Lots 13-17 in support of upgrading the current 2.75-inch Rocket System to a semi-active laser guided precision weapon for the Navy, Army, and Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will be performed in Hudson, New Hampshire (31%); Whippany, New Jersey (22%); Plymouth, United Kingdom (16%); Austin, Texas (7%); Bristol, Pennsylvania (3%); Rochester, New York (3%); Kitchener, Ontario, Canada (2%); Westminster, Maryland (2%); Ronan, Montana (2%); Topsfield, Massachusetts (2%); Pomfret, Connecticut (2%); Danbury, Connecticut (2%); Anaheim, California (1%); Tempe, Arizona (1%); Ipswich, Massachusetts (1%); Centennial, Colorado (1%); Carson, California (1%); and Boston, Massachusetts (1%), and is expected to be in completed December 2031. No funds will be obligated at the time of award, funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001925D0018).