U.S. Army Aims Long Range Precision Munition “Shoot-Off” for FARA Aircraft in 2022

The U.S. Army is looking for manufacturers to put forward potential Long Range Precision Munition (LRPM) candidates, to be integrated on Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA), for a “shoot-off” demonstration next year.

The “shoot-off” is planned for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022. The Army wants the LRPM to be ready for FARA, first units of which will be fielded in 2028.

“A vendor’s munition solution must be a mature design, clearly allowing support to Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft integration and demonstration in FY2026,” the Army says.

“It is the Army’s intent to conduct this demonstration to inform the LRPM capabilities development and to inform the selection of a single or multiple vendors to build, integrate, test, and/or qualify on Army aviation platforms,” a request for information posted on a government contracting website recently said.

The service intends to also replace air-to-ground AGM-114 Hellfire missiles carried aboard its Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter with LRPMs. It wants a weapon that has a longer range than Hellfire’s 7.5km; and Israel-built Spike NLOS’ 30km it is planning to buy as a quick fix.