Raytheon - Loiter Attack Munitions (LAM)

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Challenge: Raytheon Missile Systems was building and operating the LAM prototype as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Netfires program. The LAM was being designed to demonstrate autonomous waypoint navigation. Raytheon subcontracted to Athena Technologies, now part of Rockwell Collins, to demonstrate the flight controls to enable the LAM to autonomously loiter and target.

Solution: We implemented our Athena 111 flight control system to autonomously control all mission management, flight control and 3-D auto-navigation functions on the first flight of a LAM prototype for Raytheon in 2002.

The Athena 111 flight-control system performed autonomously to guide the LAM vehicle over the 11-minute flight from launch to controlled touchdown under a parachute. The LAM was released at low speed and from 4000 ft from an O-2 aircraft.

Results: Our Athena 111 autonomously controlled the LAM through the pullout to level flight and into a series of dynamic test maneuvers, guiding the vehicle along an off-shore racetrack course. Our Kalman Filter solution provided accurate all-attitude flight control and navigation state vector information and enabled the Athena 111's multivariable flight control laws to execute the mission as pre-planned. LAM flight data was recorded in the 111's onboard solid-state storage system and successfully extracted after the flight.