Pentagon Will Continue Developing Automated Missile

The Pentagon will continue developing a sophisticated $7-billion air-to-air missile, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger said Friday, despite congressional concerns over technical problems and escalating costs.

Weinberger disclosed in a letter sent to the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees that after a “thorough review” of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) program, he is able to certify that the weapon will meet its performance and cost requirements and that funding for the project is essential.

In delaying a decision on continued development of the weapon 13 months ago, the defense secretary raised the possibility that he would cancel production of the missile, made by Hughes Aircraft Co. of El Segundo. The Air Force, which would share the missile with the Navy, has brought the Raytheon Co. of Lexington, Mass., into the program as a second producer to ensure competition.

Months Behind Schedule

When Weinberger acted to delay a decision on development, work on the missile had fallen at least half a year behind the original schedule and the House Armed Services Committee had recommended that it be abandoned if costs climbed too high.

According to the Pentagon, the Air Force and Navy would buy a total of 24,000 of the missiles.

The weapon would be one of the first fully automated missiles, guided by its own on-board radar transmitter that would allow a pilot to fire at a target as much as 40 miles away then--unlike pilots of less sophisticated missiles--change course to minimize his vulnerability and seek other targets.

It would be deployed aboard some of the military’s most sophisticated aircraft, including the Air Force’s F-15s and F-16s, and the Navy’s F-14s and F-18s.

Hughes has contended that the missiles would cost an average of $200,000 each, not counting inflation, based on full-scale production in future years, but critics have placed the ultimate cost at $1 million each.

$531.3 Million Spent

So far, the Air Force has spent $531.3 million on development of the missile, which would succeed the AIM-7 Sparrow as the primary dogfighting weapon for fighter jets into the 1990s.

Earlier last month, the General Accounting Office, the congressional investigative agency, issued a critical report concluding that design changes might be needed.

In letters sent Friday to Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and to Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Weinberger certified that the design of the missile had been completed and that its performance requirements had not been downgraded from original specifications.

He said his review included the results of flight and laboratory tests.