Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC, a business unit of Northrop Grumman, received a modification to a previously awarded contract worth approximately $164,9 million from the U.S. Navy to exercise an option to procure Lot Nine, full-rate production of Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles (AARGM).

The order includes the conversion of Advanced Guided Missle-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles into 253 AGM-88E AARGM all up rounds for the Navy and two Captive Air Training Missiles for the government of Germany.

Work will be performed in Northridge, California (80%); and Ridgecrest, California (20%), and is expected to be complete by March 2023.

According to Naval Technology, the AGM-88E AARGM is a medium-range air-to-ground missile. The primary role of the missile is to target enemy air defences. The missile can engage relocatable Integrated Air Defence (IAD) targets and other targets equipped with shutdown capability.

AARGM is the most advanced weapons system deployed today delivering destruction of enemy air defense system capabilities. AARGM provides the critical ability to detect and defeat surface-to-air-threats enabling the penetration of adversary anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) domains required by U.S. warfighters and allies.

The AARGM program achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in July 2012, and is currently deployed and supporting operational requirements for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Italian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force. The missile is integrated into the weapons systems on the FA-18C/D Hornet, FA-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler aircraft and on the Tornado Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance (ECR) aircraft.