Air-To-Air Starstreak - Integrating and Testing an Air Defense Missile in the Air-To-Air Role

The Air-to-Air Starstreak (ATASK) Integration Program was a two-phase Congressionally directed effort that evaluated the system effectiveness of the Starstreak missile on the AH-64A Apache, using brassboard hardware. The program was conducted by the US Army Aviation Research Development and Engineering Center’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate. The contractor team was lead by Shorts Missile Systems of Belfast, Northern Ireland with Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles and Boeing as subcontractors. The United Kingdom (UK) Ministry of Defence provided missiles. The brassboard ATASK system, integrated on the Apache, consisted of the ATASK laser, cockpit interfaces, launcher, and Starstreak missile. The laser was integrated into the Target Acquisition and Designation Sight (TADS) on the Apache, and took advantage of the current autotracker and manual tracking capabilities. This allowed targets to be engaged in high clutter environments. Testing at Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) was performed to determine the capabilities of the system, and allowed limited conclusions regarding operational capability to be gleaned from the results. Testing consisted of safe separation, tracking, and firing trials. Separation characteristics, system performance and suitability, and effectiveness were investigated. This unique system led to a challenging integration program.