L3Harris Technologies’ Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment (VAMPIRE) multi-purpose weapon systems are having an immediate impact on the Ukrainian battlefront, the company reported on 11 December 2023.
“Early customer reports say VAMPIRE is already having a positive effect in Ukraine thanks to the US Navy’s ability to respond with unprecedented speed and agility,” Jason Lambert, president for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at L3Harris, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “As adversary tactics evolve, our customers rely on us to anticipate, design and rapidly deliver reliable mission capabilities. We’ll continue partnering with the Department of Defense (DoD) to field critical capabilities that will help save lives,” he added.
US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) had reported on 6 December that delivery of the VAMPIRE systems – an effort led by NAVAIR’s Direct and Time Sensitive Strike Program Office (PMA-242) – would be completed by the end of the year.
L3Harris announced on 6 January 2023 that it had received a USD 40 M (EUR 36.7 M) contract from the US DoD to deliver 14 VAMPIRE systems to Ukraine.
VAMPIRE is a compact, palletised rocket-launching platform that consists of a WESCAM MX-10 RSTA sensor ball and a four-shot Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) launcher designed to be mounted to any vehicle with a flatbed. The US Navy and US Army have traditionally used APKWS as an air-to-ground weapon, but with VAMPIRE these laser-guided rockets can be used against unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well as enemy ground targets.
Under its DoD contract L3Harris was directed to install VAMPIRE kits on US government-provided vehicles to provide agile combat support for Ukrainian forces facing the invading Russians. The contract called for four systems to be delivered by mid-2023 and 10 more by the end of the year.
Developed by L3 Harris from 2021, with an advanced prototype submitted to the DoD in April 2022, the VAMPIRE system was selected as part of the DoD’s USD 3 Bn security assistance package under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative announced in August 2022.
On 6 December NAVAIR said PMA-242 planned to imminently deliver the first ever APKWS round with proximity fuze warheads: a key enabling technology for the counter-UAV mission. The proximity fuze incorporates an RF sensor that enables APKWS rounds to target Group 2 and Group 3 UAVs (which weigh from 10-600 kg and can reach speed of up to 460 km/h).
