Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] has delivered the first of 60 production Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) / Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) Test Instrumentation Kits (CATIK) to the U.S. Air Force under a $38 million contract.

The Air Force uses the kits to monitor in-flight missile performance. The kits also allow for remote command-and-control and flight termination of ALCMs and CALCMs during operational testing, transmitting the information to the flight test control center.

"These CATIKs enable the Air Force to continue its flight test program to verify reliability and accuracy of the missiles through 2030," said John Griffith, Boeing ALCM/CALCM program manager.

ALCM is a self-guided weapon that carries a nuclear warhead. CALCM, designed in the 1990s, carries a conventional warhead. CALCMs are produced by converting surplus nuclear-armed AGM-86B missiles into the AGM-86C missile. When launched, ALCM weapons fly to their targets using terrain correlation mapping, while CALCM weapons use GPS guidance. During flight tests, both weapons fly a preprogrammed course over the range for up to four hours.