The Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) is a joint concept technology demonstration led by the
Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate at
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy ...
to develop an air-launched
directed-energy weapon capable of incapacitating or damaging electronic systems by means of an EMP (
electromagnetic pulse).
Development
On October 22, 2012,
Boeing announced a successful test of the missile. CHAMP disabled seven different targets before self-destructing over empty desert.
The
U.S. Air Force expected to have technology for a steerable counter-electronics weapon “available” in 2016, when a multi-shot, multi-target, high-power microwave (HPM) package would be tested aboard an
AGM-86 ALCM. By the mid-2020s, HPM weapons are expected to be integrated onto a "
JASSM-ER-type weapon," and on small reusable platforms like the
F-35 Lightning II and
unmanned aerial vehicles. HPM weapons may be desired in situations where one target building needs to be engaged and shut down, while not affecting the buildings around it. Other potential improvements could include increasing autonomy and putting it on
hypersonic
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds 5 times the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above.
The precise Mach number at which a craft can be said to be flying at hypersonic speed varies, since in ...
missiles.
The CHAMP is superior to other
electronic warfare weapons because it destroys electronics, rather than jamming which temporarily affects systems that come back online when it stops being applied. Congress has suggested repurposing excess cruise missiles demilitarized under the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to turn them into CHAMP weapons without violating it. On 14 May 2015, the Air Force nominated the
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
JASSM-ER as the optimal air vehicle to carry the CHAMP payload. CHAMP is capable of up to 100 shots per sortie.
In May 2019, it was revealed the Air Force had deployed at least 20 CHAMP-equipped missiles.
Ground-based
In 2013,
Raytheon demonstrated a ground-based air defense high-powered microwave system derived from CHAMP technology, disabling electronics on small UAVs. The demonstrator resembles the
active denial system non-lethal crowd control device, including its reflector and steering mirror. It is integrated with radar automated tracking. Services and agencies have expressed interest in the technology to disable small UAVs infringing on sensitive sites. Although the current prototype measures 6 m (19.7 ft), the company has designed a system half the size that can deliver the same capability.
Successor
The AFRL and
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...
will conduct tests during summer 2022 of the High-Powered Joint Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike Weapon (HiJENKS), a successor to the CHAMP using smaller and more rugged HPM technology that can be integrated on a wider range of carrier systems.
US Navy, Air Force running ‘capstone test’ of new high-power microwave missile
'' Defense News''. 1 July 2022.
References
External links
*{{cite web, last=Jackson, first=Randy, title=CHAMP - lights out (Video), url=http://www.boeing.com/Features/2012/10/bds_champ_10_22_12.html, publisher=Boeing, date=October 30, 2012
Electronic warfare
Experimental missiles
Military equipment introduced in the 2010s