The Drive reports on a test of a new warhead for the “Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System” (APKWS)

The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, or APKWS, laser guidance kit designed by BAE Systems has been tested in a surface-to-surface role with a new highly versatile, multi-purpose warhead that is capable of taking on armor and other targets. The new warhead is provided by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems. The test demonstrated added flexibility for not only the APKWS itself, which is most often employed in air-to-ground applications against more lightly armored targets, but also for all platforms that are capable of firing APKWS rockets.

A screenshot from the General Dynamics video showing the launcher configuration used during the test. Credit: General Dynamics

The test also demonstrated a new launcher.

The report was quite complete, providing background and an update on the entire program.

If you have been reading this blog regularly, you know I think APKWS would be a good fit for the Coast Guard as a precision weapon that would be highly effective against small, fast, highly manueverable threats while minimizing the possibility of collateral damage. Its relatively new proximity fuse also makes it effective against Unmanned Air Vehicles which appear to be an emerging threat. APKWS might even be effective against small ships if used in quantity.

For larger threats Hellfire or its replacement, JAGM, would be a better choice, but because this is so much cheaper and available in larger quatities, it appears much more likely. APKWS would probably be a better choice for PATFORSWA where the threat includes large numbers of small craft and UAVs.

We may have seen the video below, but it does suggest that the system is suitable for the 85 foot Navy MkVI patrol boat, so its certainly suitable for cutters of similar size and larger.