NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — A Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) team received recognition for its work with the Direct Attack Moving Target Capability (DAMTC) program during a ceremony here Nov. 8.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Nicholas Kehoe, national commander of the Order of the Daedalians, presented the 2012 Order of Daedalians Col. Franklin C. Wolfe memorial trophy to Precision Strike Weapons Program’s (PMA-201) Laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) team. The Order of Daedalians presents the award annually to military or civilian individuals, groups or organizations deemed to have contributed the most outstanding weapon system development, operating in whole or in part in the aerospace environment.

“Through visionary leadership and exceptional program management, the Direct Attack Weapons team delivered critical capability to the warfighter on-cost and on-schedule,” said Navy Capt. Carl Chebi, PMA-201 program manager. “They completed the system integration to provide a time-saving capability and developed Laser JDAM, the warfighter’s “weapon of choice,” to support current operations by minimizing weapon configuration changes and offering targeting flexibility to be successful in today’s environment.”

The Navy used existing weapon inventories, current resources and logistics, and industry assets to meet DoD requirements faster than conventional acquisition programs for the DAMTC initiative.Led by Mark Lakner, PMA-201 successfully developed, fielded and fully integrated the cost-saving program for fleet operational use and employed a capability currently used in theater by the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.

“PMA-201’s Direct Attack Weapons team is honored to have been selected for this award,” Lakner said. “This team is dedicated to supporting the warfighter and their contributions are evident in the successful system employment in the operational environment."

The Laser JDAM is a flexible, dual-mode weapon capable of precision guidance, precision strike capability against moving and maneuvering targets through all weather and line-of-sight reactive targeting.

The Navy and Marine Corps use the moving and maneuvering target capability of the Laser JDAM on all F/A-18 Hornet, Super Hornet and AV-8B Harrier aircraft for close-air support, strike coordination and armed reconnaissance, and time sensitive armored and unarmored vehicle target strike missions. The Air Force uses it for tactical and strategic bombing platforms and select unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Navy established the DAMTC program in February 2010, conducting successful operational testing of the Laser JDAM as the DAMTC solution in April 2012 and resulting in a full-rate production decision in June 2012.

“It took 17 months to get this capability to the fleet,” Chebi said. “That is a testament to the great teamwork of the entire naval aviation enterprise. Seventeen months seems like a long time when you’re in the fleet, as it did to me, but it’s actually quite an achievement when you consider all of the behind-the-scene work that goes into fielding a new weapon system that meets user requirements.”

In addition to this current readiness capability, the team is working on the next three evolutions in the capability enhancement roadmap for the DAMTC program. The team is modernizing the Laser JDAM to incorporate an adjustable proximity sensor – air burst capability, a Laser JDAM variant of a 2,000-pound hard target penetrator and an extended range capability.

“DAMTC provides the ability to engage targets as required to meet the warfighters’ mission,” said Ralph “Chip” Whipkey, Direct Attack Weapons deputy program manager. “This evolution of capability is a step in the right direction and it complements the other items already provided to the fleet within the Direct Attack Weapons portfolio.”