Meanwhile, the JCM program was proposed for termination in the FY '06 budget, with an agreement that unobligated balances from the FY '05 account could be used to continue research and development activities on how to apply JCM technologies to other missile programs, the administration said.

The program counts $34.6 million in unobligated balances. "Rescinding these funds will have a minimal impact on other Army R&D programs," the White House said.

JCM prime contractor Lockheed Martin conducted a preliminary design review of the program this summer, and had hoped Congress would restore its funding. The House approved $50 million to continue maturing its technology (DAILY, July 7), and the Senate defense appropriations report has urged the Defense Department to re-evaluate the decision to cancel it.

The guidance unit will probably make it onto Phase II SDB

The curtain has finally fallen on Lockheed Martin's Joint Common Missile (JCM) programme, which has been on life support since it was cut from the US DoD's budget plans in 2004.

No one seems to be able to adequately explain why the JCM was killed off. The programme wasn't in trouble, appeared to be on time and within budget and had suffered no great technical disasters. However, at a time when budget pressures dictated that something had to go, that something turned out to be the JCM.

The missile arguably suffered from being a sophisticated and pricey weapon at a time when there are fewer and fewer sophisticated and pricey targets on the battlefield. The JCM was intended to equip both fast jets and helicopters - but the fast jet community doesn't seem to have any pressing need for such a new weapon (its attention is elsewhere), while helicopter crews are still perfectly happy with the AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missile.

The Pentagon is preparing to kick off the competition for the new Joint Air-to-Ground Missile -- a next-generation, multipurpose replacement for Hellfire, Longbow Hellfire and Maverick air-to-ground missiles.


JAGM is considered a replacement for the Joint Common Missile, which the Pentagon terminated in December 2004.


Sources tell Inside the Army that an overarching integrated product team met Aug. 10 to review the JAGM program schedule, requirements and acquisition strategy.


In preparing for a Sept. 21 release of a request for proposals covering the system development and demonstration phase, the team discussed the need to ensure a fair and open competition for the JAGM contract, according to an industry source.


Specifically, officials plan to investigate contract language that would dis-incentivize exclusive arrangements between contractors and sub-prime vendors, as well as ways to place more emphasis on product delivery as opposed to up-front process, sources say.


Rocket motors and the missile’s integration with fixed-wing platforms were also discussed, these sources add. JAGM is being designed for use with Army, Navy and Marine Corps helicopters as well as Navy fighters and unmanned aerial systems. The United Kingdom is also involved in the program.


Meanwhile, the draft RFP, released in June, was amended Aug. 31. New language in the solicitation notes that potential bidders “have proposed alternate solutions, risk mitigators, and fundamentally different acquisition strategies.”


In talks with industry officials, ITA learned that the OIPT believes up to five prime respondents to the RFP are possible. Other likely bidders include Raytheon, Boeing and BAE Systems, industry officials say.


Representing the lead service on the project when talks to resume the effort began last year, Army officials had expressed a preference for restarting work on the Joint Common Missile. OSD officials, however, elected to open the competition to other technologies that have matured in the three years since the JCM program contract was awarded to Lockheed.


An industry source said some potential bidders fear the RFP will favor Lockheed Martin.


Army officials did not return calls for comment by press time (Aug. 31).


The JAGM program is expected to be worth billions of dollars; its predecessor was estimated to be worth $5 billion.


Late last year, the Pentagon comptroller directed the Army and Navy to fund an account dedicated to the program. Tina Jonas, the Defense Department’s chief financial officer, told the Army to shift $53.5 million from its “Other Missile Procurement Product Improvement Program” to a new “Joint Air-to-Ground” budget line, sister publication Inside the Pentagon reported in February. The Navy and Marine Corps were directed to contribute the remainder of the $68.5 million by diverting funds from other ammunition programs.


In August, the House Appropriations Committee recommended fully funding the new program in fiscal year 2008. The Army request is for $53.5 million, while the Navy asked for $15 million.


A milestone B review could come as soon as May 2008, sources said last week, though the OIPT did discuss delaying the decision until after a preliminary design review is conducted, which could reduce risk.


The JAGM is a fixed-wing, rotary wing and unmanned aerial vehicle-launched missile system that is to provide advanced line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight capabilities, including precision strike. -- Marina Malenic

Lockheed Martin Told To Wrap Up Work On JCM By Today

Jun 15, 2007 (Defense Daily/Access Intelligence via COMTEX) --

The Army is bringing the Joint Common Missile (JCM) program to a formal close, preparing for the launch of a competition for the follow-on program--the Joint Air to Ground Missile (JAGM).

Starting today, Lockheed Martin [LMT], the contractor that has been working on JCM since 2004, must stop work on the program, according to a letter from the Army's Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command.

The company was told to close out the contract with the remaining funds by June 15, according to the May 14 letter. "Further work against the Statement of Work is not required," the letter said.

The break in work opens the door for the Army to release a request for information (RFI) for the JAGM on June 18. A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for June 28 and 29, during which the Army will present its procurement strategy and vision for the missile's mission, the notice said.

The notice to Lockheed Martin is the latest in a long line of hurdles for the contractor on the JCM program.

Lockheed Martin won a $53 million contract to develop the missile in the spring of 2004, beating competitors Raytheon [RTN] and a Boeing [BA]-Northrop Grumman [NOC]- led team. At the time, the program's estimated worth was $5 billion (Defense Daily, March 9, 2005).

That fell into doubt during a Pentagon budget decision later that year, but the program continued to survive with support from Congress. Last year, Pentagon officials began discussing the possibility of recompeting the program, a process that is now taking shape.

JAGM will be used by Army, Navy and Marine Corps aerial platforms with "enhanced targeting capabilities, increased lethality and extended range in both fire-and-forget and precision point targeting modes, and against the most advanced threat armored vehicles and non-traditional (or other than armored vehicle) target sets in adverse weather, obscured battlefield conditions, and against current and projected threat countermeasures using advanced seeker technologies," said the presolicitation notice posted June 1 (Defense Daily, June 5).

JAGM is the new successor to the TOW, Hellfire and Maverick missiles and replaces the Joint Common Missile (JCM) program that was cut from the Pentagon's budget in late 2004 and kept alive by congressional plus-ups.

As of last month, Lockheed Martin continued to work on its contract for that program, saying that its contract had not been formally terminated (Defense Daily, May 17).

Defense Daily, Vol. 234, No. 53