Affordable_Weapon_System
The Affordable Weapon System is a US Navy program to design and produce a low cost "off the shelf" cruise missile launchable from a self-contained unit mounted in a standard shipping container.
Parts of this article (those related to Program status) need to be updated. (November 2014) |
The need for the US Army to mass-manufacture more affordable, low overhead weapons became a pressing matter during the 1970s, a decade when costs to operate and support an armed inventory grew rapidly and consequently reduced budgets for new weapons acquisitions.[1] The US weapons inventory is the most advanced in the world, but its volume is deemed insufficient in a theoretical war against China for example (especially the long-range precision-guided weaponry). To that effect, BAE Systems had developed a kit (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System) to convert Hydra rockets into smart, precision-guided ammo.[2]