US Army issues new Sources Sought for an LMAMS loitering weapon system

The US Army Contracting Command on 19 January issued another Sources Sought notification for an organic small unit-level Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) precision-guided loitering weapon system capability.

The army issued a very similar LMAMS Sources Sought notification in April 2019, following which, in April 2020, AeroVironment was awarded a USD79.9 million one-year contract to supply its Switchblade 300 backpackable tube-launched loitering missile system to meet the LMAMS requirement. The contract was funded for the first year of procurement through a Joint Urgent Operational Need (JUON) Statement from the US Army Tactical Aviation and Ground Munitions (TAGM) project office, with deliveries starting in late 2020.

According to the latest Sources Sought, the notional LMAMS system architecture should consist of an all-up-round (AUR) missile (including airframe, sensors, integrated guidance, warhead, datalink, and launcher) and a day/night readable Fire-Control Unit (FCU) with datalink, operator interface, and mission preparation and execution functions that provides the operator with “real-time video and control of the missile.”

The Sources Sought notes that the operator should be able to “select predetermined targets using geolocation reference, visually select and identify targets of opportunity, loiter, abort, abort and redirect, arm/disarm, and manually command warhead detonation. The architecture for the LMAMS controller should be modular so it can be hosted by any future approved end-user device or United States Army common controller.” The notification specifies an LMAMS training simulator device embedded with FCU “so that training does not require additional equipment other than the tactical hardware”.

The army's Contracting Command also issued an LMAMS System Technical Requirements synopsis with the notification – based on existing user requirements submitted as part of JJUON and Operational Needs Statements (ONSs) – that provides for both threshold and objective capabilities.