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Robins begins AIM-120 missile rocket motor transfer to improve launch capability

  • Published
  • By Holly L. Birchfield
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Robins is working with the Raytheon Company on a three-year project that will give fighter aircraft the right power at the right time.

About 360 AIM-120 missiles out of 690 scheduled to undergo rocket motor transfers will take place here during fiscal 2007. Five munitions workers from the 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron are teaming up with four Tucson, Ariz.-based Raytheon workers on the $4.6 million project which started its first phase in February.

The air-to-air missile, designed to shoot down enemy aircraft, is the primary weapon for the F-15 and F-16. The AIM-120C is the primary weapon for the F-22 and eventually it will go on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

According to Master Sgt. Patricia Logue, senior inspector in the 78th LRS Munitions Storage Area, the changeover in the weapon was necessary to address problems in the missile's makeup.

"Basically, what we're doing is we're moving the rocket motors off of the AIM-120A and we're moving them to the AIM-120B," she said. "It's called a rocket motor transfer. The reason for that is there's a mild defect in the aero jet rocket motor. They have a service life of 10 and 1/2 years and they're ending (their viability)."

According to Edward Louie, senior multi-discipline engineer at Raytheon, the swap out on the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAM, comes as the missile's initial model is aging and losing its programming capability.

"The AIM-120A is the first generation AMRAM and they don't have any program memory, so they're less capable than the B and C versions that can be reprogrammed," he said. "The AIM-120As have all the good rocket motors in them, while the AIM-120 Bs and Cs have the faulty rocket motors. The Air Force wants to start decommissioning the A missiles because they're 15 years old now. So, we're going to take all the good rocket motors out before we take them (to Letter Kenny Army Depot in Pennsylvania) so they can be demilitarized. We're putting our good rocket motors into the B and C missiles, which can be reprogrammed and have a higher capability and they're going to be updated with software."

Mr. Louie said in addition to Robins, his team has worked with Hill AFB, Utah; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on the project. The team plans to visit Robins 12 more times throughout the year, spending about two weeks at the base each time.

The transfer benefit is a safer capability for the warfighter.

"By swapping out these rocket motors to the Bs and Cs, we've given the warfighters multiple capabilities and we're protecting them at the same time, by giving them the correct rocket motors," he said. "We're just really excited to be out here because we know how important it is for the Air Force to get this done and we're hoping to get it all done on time and on schedule."