Current SLAM
In its current incarnation, the SLAM-ER (Expanded Response), it is capable of attacking land and sea targets automatically, at long-range (155+ miles/250+ km), and can also be controlled remotely from the air. It relies on military-grade GPS and infrared imaging for navigation. It can strike both moving and stationary targets. It can be redirected to another target after launch if the original target has already been destroyed, or is no longer a priority. SLAM-ER attained IOC in June 2000. It is extremely accurate, with the best CEP in the U.S. Navy.
General Electric provides an Automatic Target Recognition Unit (ATRU) which processes pre-launch and post-launch targeting data, allows high speed video comparison, and enables the SLAM-ER to be used in a true "fire and forget" manner. It also includes a "man-in-the-loop" mode, where the pilot/controller can designate the point of impact precisely, even if the target has no distinguishing infrared signature. It can be launched and controlled by F-15, F/A-18, P-3 Orion and S-3 Viking.
The cost of a single SLAM-ER is $500,000.
Read more about this topic: Standoff Land Attack Missile
Famous quotes containing the words current and/or slam:
“Gradually the village murmur subsided, and we seemed to be embarked on the placid current of our dreams, floating from past to future as silently as one awakes to fresh morning or evening thoughts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“You slam a politician, you make out he’s the devil, with horns and hoofs. But his wife loves him, and so did all his mistresses.”
—Pamela Hansford Johnson (1912–1981)