Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] successfully conducted the first flight of its Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missile recently aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft.

The flight captured F-15 aerodynamic performance information while carrying the SLAM-ER Missile and AWW-13K Data Link Pod and supported the Republic of Korea's (ROK) F-15K program. In June 2002, the ROK became the first international SLAM-ER customer when it selected the F-15K. The SLAM-ER supports a long-range standoff mission capability.

"Flying the SLAM-ER on the Eagle is a critical step forward for the ROK Air Force," said Mike Marks, Boeing vice president and general manager for U.S. Air Force Fighter and Bomber Programs, and Weapons Programs. "Through real time flex targeting, F-15K drivers can assign single missiles to multiple targets, and then redirect them in-flight to the highest priority target."

Produced for the U.S. Navy, SLAM-ER missiles have a range exceeding 150 nautical miles (278 kilometers) and can fly a pre-planned or target-of-opportunity route to the target area. Utilizing Global Positioning System data and real-time imagery from an infrared seeker, the F-15K integrates an advanced data link pod for precise attacks against long-rang targets on land or at sea.

The initial flight tests on the F-15E will be subsequently followed by SLAM-ER Avionic integration testing on F-15K -- a fully instrumented F-15K -- aircraft in 2005, and then by a live F-15K SLAM-ER missile launch against a ground target in early 2006.