Northrop Grumman AGM-88E AARGM missile

The United States State Department yesterday approved a possible sale to Germany of 91 AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) Tactical Missiles, and up to eight AGM-88E AARGM Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM) for an estimated $122.86 million.

The Government of Germany has requested to buy the missiles through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) acting as its Agent, Also included in the proposed sale are up to six telemetry/flight termination systems, Flight Data Recorders (FDR), U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services and miscellaneous support equipment, and other related elements of logistical and program support.

The AGM-88E AARGM is an upgrade to the older generation AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), which Germany first purchased in 1988. The AGM-88E AARGMs in this case will be manufactured using a mixture of new components and older sections from Germany's existing stock of AGM-88Bs provided as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE).

Germany has requested that the NSPA act as its agent for the FMS procurement and case management to support the AARGM program. The principal U.S. contractor will be NGIS, Ridgecrest, CA. The integration efforts will be via a Direct Commercial Sale (DCS), initiated by the Luftwaffe, between the Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) and the AARGM Original Equipment Manufacturer, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, formerly known as Orbital ATK (OA).