Released by the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division China Lake Public Affairs Office—

A successful Standoff Land-Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) test occurred on June 1 at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) China Lake land range.

SLAM-ER is a precision strike missile that can be launched from safe standoff ranges more than 150 nautical miles away from its target.

The test scenario consisted of a remotely-controlled truck target with position updates relayed to the Integrated Battlespace Arena (IBAR).

The IBAR simulated the sensor and command and control (C2) platform. The IBAR also broadcasted the position updates over Link 16 to the F/A-18 Hornets in the net. The designated Hornet provided updates to the missile over the AWW-13 data link pod.

The test resulted in a direct hit on the simulated Shahab-3 target — a simulated surface-to-surface missile launcher. The controller pilot used the weapon system's man-in-the-loop capability and provided pinpoint accuracy onto the target which traveled at approximately 30 mph.

SLAM-ER demonstrated current capability in the use of the networked kill chain to prosecute time critical moving targets. The missile’s initial capability reduces risk and offers greater growth potential in future precision strike weapons such as Harpoon III and Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) Block III.

Live testing of the moving target test-on-land capability will continue with a real sensor aircraft providing the target position rather than the simulation provided by IBAR. Operational evaluation is expected to be completed by September.