Boeing
has delivered the first of 60 production Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) / Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) Test Instrumentation Kits (CATIK) to the
US Air Forceunder a $38m contract.
The air force uses the kits to monitor in-flight missile performance. The kits also allow for remote command-and-control and flight termination of ALCMs and CALCMs during operational testing, transmitting the information to the flight test control centre.
ALCM is a self-guided weapon that carries a nuclear warhead. CALCM, designed in the 1990s, carries a conventional warhead. CALCMs are produced by converting surplus nuclear-armed AGM-86B missiles into the AGM-86C missile.
When launched, ALCM weapons fly to their targets using terrain correlation mapping, while CALCM weapons use GPS guidance. During flight tests, both weapons fly a pre-programmed course over the range for up to four hours.
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Where will all the raw materials come from for the manufacturing process? How will they be transported to the factory and what is going to be done with the various scrap and residues?