Raytheon Company and MD Helicopters, Inc. successfully fired four TALON laser guided rockets from the MD 530G armed aerial scout (AAS) helicopter during a series of tests at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.

“This test further demonstrates the maturity of the TALON Laser Guided Rocket weapon system as a complement to MD’s AAS platform,” said Darryl Kreitman, Raytheon TALON, Programme Director. “These test shots included four firings showcasing TALON’s versatility over the entire firing envelope with direct hits for all events.”

TALON LGR is a low-cost, digital semi-active laser guidance and control kit co-developed with the United Arab Emirates. TALON’s guidance section integrates directly to the front of the legacy 2.75-inch Hydra-70 unguided rockets while its unique tail kit replaces the legacy Hydra-70 wraparound tail kit.

“In just a few months, Raytheon worked closely with MD to integrate TALON onto the MD 530G, subjecting the helicopter and rocket to number of realistic mission profiles,” said Kreitman. “The successful testing once again demonstrated TALON’s precision guidance capabilities.”

During TALON’s development programme and test programme, Raytheon completed more than 35 TALON firings from the AH-64D Apache, which has resulted in a solution that is ready for the international direct commercial sales customers today.

Raytheon’s TALON requires no hardware or software modifications to the launcher or aircraft platform for any aircraft that fires 2.75-inch Hydra-70 unguided rockets using the standard M260/261 launchers.