SLAMRAAM

The SLAMRAAM (Surface Launched (SL) and AMRAAM) is the name of the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile used as a surface-to-air missile. Manufacturered by Raytheon, it was first used in the NASAMS system which had initial operational capability in 1994/95.

The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, consists of a number of vehicle-pulled launch batteries (containing six AMRAAMs each) along with separate radar trucks and control station vehicles. A more recent version of the program is the High Mobility Launcher, made in cooperation with Raytheon (Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace was already a subcontractor on the SLAMRAAM system), where the launch-vehicle is a Humvee (M1152A1 HMMWV), containing four AMRAAMs each.

Raytheon successfully tested launching AMRAAM missiles from a five-missile carrier on a M1097 Humvee. They receive their initial guidance information from a radar not mounted on the vehicle. Since the missile is launched without the benefit of an aircraft's speed or high altitude, its range is considerably shorter. Raytheon is currently marketing an SL-AMRAAM EX, purported to be an extended range AMRAAM and bearing a resemblance to the RIM-162 ESSM.

While still under evaluation for replacement of current US Army assets, the SL-AMRAAM has been deployed in several nations' military forces. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested the purchasing of SL-AMRAAM as part of a larger 7 billion dollar foreign military sales package. The sale would include 288 AMRAAM C-7 missiles.

The US Army has test fired the SL-AMRAAM from a HIMARS artillery rocket launcher as a common launcher, as part of a move to switch to a larger and more survivable launch platform.

On January 6, 2011, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that the U.S. Army has decided to terminate acquisition of the SLAMRAAM as part of a budget-cutting effort.

The National Guard Association of the United States has sent a letter asking for the United States Senate to stop the Army's plan to drop the SLAMRAAM program because without it there would be no path to modernize the Guard's AN/TWQ-1 Avenger Battalions.

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