Raytheon’s AGM-176 Griffin Mini-Missiles

The AGM-176 Griffin Family

AGM-176A. Griffin-A is currently in use as part of American roll-on armed kits for its C-130 Hercules transports. It’s dropped out of “gunslinger” tubes and “derringer doors,” providing precision weapon drops from the rear ramp and side door. It packs a 13 pound blast-fragmentation warhead, and uses a combination of GPS/INS and a semi-active laser seeker for guidance.

AGM-176B/ MK-60. Griffin-B is a powered missile can be a forward-firing weapon, and can be launched from land, naval, or aerial platforms. The missile’s estimated range is similar to the larger AGM-114 Hellfire: about 3.5 miles if surface-launched without a booster motor, rising to 12.5 miles or more if fired from an aerial platform at altitude. That’s fine for aerial platforms, as Griffin A/B offers them the ability to carry more Griffins than Hellfires, while achieving similar reach and precision. The tradeoff is a smaller warhead.

There are still targets like tanks that will demand a larger AGM-114 Hellfire warhead, and targets like buildings may demand a full-size AGM-65 Maverick missile or LJDAM bomb. In many cases, however, the Griffin offers a “just enough, for less” solution that has the added benefit of minimizing collateral damage.

The AGM-176B Block III adds an improved semi-active laser seeker, enhanced electronics and signal processing, and a new Multi-Effects Warhead System that works against a number of different target types.

Confirmed Platforms: AT-6C turboprop, KC-130J Harvest Hawk, AC-130J Ghost Rider, MC-130W Combat Spear, MQ-1 Predator UAV, MQ-8B Fire Scout VTUAV, MQ-9 Reaper UAV, Cyclone Class patrol boat. Has also been tested using ground launch system, and on the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter.

AGM-176C. The Griffin C attempts to compete against Lockheed’s Hellfire and MBDA’s Brimstone 2 by adding dual-mode laser/IIR guidance for a fire-and-forget missile that uses thrust-vectoring control for vertical launch compatibility, a datalink for retargeting in flight, and waypoint flight to maneuver around obstacles.

The AGM-176C-ER keeps these improvements, and its rocket motor extends surface-launched range to 10 miles or more – about 3x the range of previous Griffins, or their larger Hellfire/ Brimstone competitors.

Looking Beyond

The Army has tested the 45-pound, powered Griffin-B missile as an option for forward outposts. Its de facto competition here is Raytheon’s own Javelin missile, which is already widely deployed, and offers similar range and firepower. Javelin is a rather expensive missile, and takes some time to activate and reload, but comes with advanced sensors that troops use independently.

In order to find a viable niche and achieve acceptance, Griffin will have to compete on cost and response time/volume. Griffin C’s added range will help, but this missile family’s ability to receive geo-coordinate cues from UAVs and other sensors, without the need for an operator to find the same target himself, may be their biggest edge.

On the naval front, the picture isn’t as rosy. Griffin-B reportedly costs about half as much as the Raytheon NLOS-LS PAM, but its surface-launched range is less than 1/6th of NLOS-LS PAM’s 21 nautical miles. This severe cut in reach, coupled with the warhead’s small size, sharply limits its versatility. Griffins could engage enemy speedboats, but guidance modes for the A & B models force one-at-a-time engagements. Nor can Griffin do much damage to full-size enemy vessels – most of which will pack large anti-ship missiles with a 50 – 200 mile reach.

This didn’t stop the Navy from designating the Griffin as an interim solution, and it has been a very useful addition to their Cyclone Class patrol boats. On the other hand, Griffin’s limitations, and the availability of fire-and-forget Hellfire missile stocks, led the US Navy to equip their Littoral Combat Ship with AGM-114L Hellfire Longbow radar-guided missiles instead.

Griffin C’s combination of range and guidance modes may give it a chance on other vessels that are thinking of mounting Brimstone-class weapons, but it’s never going to compete with anti-ship missiles. Nor does it have the range to deliver naval fire support for ground forces, outside of a CONOPS involving small speedboat/ USV swarms. That leaves close-in fire as Griffin’s sweet spot, with a potential boost from its ability to also equip tactical-size shipboard UAVs.

Contracts & Key Events

Unless otherwise noted, the USAF’s Air Armament Center Contracting, Advanced Programs Division at Eglin Air Force Base, FL manages these contracts, though U.S. Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL also seems to have its share. The contractor is Raytheon Missiles Systems Co. in Tucson, AZ.

Oct 28/14: Testing. Raytheon announces that its SeaGriffin has had a name change to Griffin C, and successfully completed flight tests at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ. The missile extends range to around 10 km, adds in-flight retargeting, and features IIR and laser seekers for fire and forget mode. Sources: Raytheon, “Raytheon Griffin C flight tests demonstrate in-flight retargeting capability”.

July 17/14: LCS closed. Navy Recognition interviews a US Navy representative re: the Surface to Surface Mission Module aboard LCS, which will sit above the helicopter hangar on the Freedom Class, and behind the 57mm gun on the Independence Class. Key excerpts:

“Longbow Hellfire is the selected missile to help meet the LCS Surface Warfare Mission Package’s (SUW MP) engagement requirement per the LCS Capabilities Description Document (Flight 0+). Currently, no new requirement exists to warrant acquisition of a new engagement capability…. An LCS variant can only receive one SUW mission package. This will have one Surface-to-surface Missile Module (SSMM), which will utilize one launcher structure that holds 24 Longbow Hellfire missiles…. There currently is no requirement for at-sea reloads.Therefore, the current SSMM design does not support at-sea reloads… It utilizes an existing Army M299 launcher mounted within a gas containment system.”

Looks like Raytheon’s SeaGriffin has lost its shot, despite tripling its previously-comparable range and adding comparable fire-and-forget capability in its latest iteration. Sources: Navy Recognition, “Q & A with the US Navy on Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles for Littoral Combat Ships”.

Feb 20/14: Griffin Block III. After a range of testing including a number of live test shots against fixed and moving targets, Raytheon says that the new Griffin Block III is on the production line as the missile’s new iteration.

Block III introduces an improved semi-active laser seeker, enhanced electronics and signal processing, and a new Multi-Effects Warhead System that works against a number of different target types. We’re starting to see a lot of general convergence between blast, fragmentation, and armor-piercing effects, and the trend seems to be headed toward sharp reductions in the number of weapon variants determined by warhead type. Sources: Raytheon, “Raytheon demonstrates Griffin Block III missile”.

July 22/13: GAO Report. The US GAO releases GAO-13-530, “Significant Investments in the Littoral Combat Ship Continue Amid Substantial Unknowns about Capabilities, Use, and Cost”. The entire report is a long chronicle of the Littoral Combat Ship program’s history of falling short and unresolved issues, including a number of issues with the mission modules. While Griffin missiles have been deployed on Cyclone Class patrol boats, GAO says they may never be deployed aboard LCS:

“The Navy assessed over 50 potential missile replacements for LCS, and in January 2011 selected the Griffin IIB missile as an interim solution based, in part, on it costing half of [NLOS-LS per missile]. The program now intends to purchase one unit with a total of eight Griffin IIB missiles, to be fielded in 2015, which leave other SUW module equipped ships with a limited ability to counter surface threats. However, Navy officials told us that they may reconsider this plan because of funding cuts related to sequestration. According to OPNAV, funding for Griffin development and testing has been suspended for the remainder of fiscal year 2013. OPNAV and the LCS program office, with LCS Council oversight, plan to investigate using a more cost-effective, government-owned, surface-to-surface missile system that would provide increased capability, including increased range. According to Navy program officials, the deployment of the Increment IV [Griffin successor] missile could also be delayed by over a year [i.e. to 2020] because funding reductions have delayed early engineering work and proposal development for the missile contract.”

June 12/12: Testing. Raytheon reveals a winter 2012 test in which 3 Griffin missiles were fired from a sea-based launcher at 3 separate speeding-boat targets more than 2 km / 1.2 miles away. The weapons were guided by laser, and scored direct hits on the targets.

The test demonstrates that the Griffin can defend a warship against speedboats that venture inside mutual torpedo range. On the one hand, that’s a good thing. Those with a grasp of naval history might recall British Royal Navy Captain Augustus Willington Shelton Agar, VC, DSO. As a Lieutenant, he sank the Russian heavy cruiser Oleg and a submarine depot ship, and badly damaged 2 battleships in 1919, using torpedo-armed speedboats launched from the Terijoki Yacht Club in Finland. The bad news is that Agar’s successors use larger Fast Attack Craft, armed with anti-ship missiles that vastly outrange the Griffin. The AGM-176B can still be very useful on patrol boats and smaller craft, but it’s a secondary defense at best for warships.

April 18/12: RAM shot. Raytheon announces that sometime in winter 2011, the USN fired a Griffin B missile from a land-based Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launcher. The shot was taken at a static target about 2 miles away, and the GPS/laser guidance produced a direct hit.

OK, successful demonstration. On the other hand, the RAM system already has the ability to hit surface craft from longer range than Griffin, albeit with less surety than Griffin’s laser guidance. Since RIM-116 missiles can also kill incoming anti-ship missiles, it isn’t clear why a ship would mount Griffins by sacrificing several RIM-116 slots on a 21-slot MK-49 or 11-shot SeaRAM launcher. Sources: Raytheon, “US Navy Fires Raytheon Griffin Missile From RAM Launcher”.

Feb 14/12: Army testing Griffin. Raytheon announces that the US Army is testing its powered Griffin B as a potential system to provide 360 degree quick-reaction firepower to smaller outposts. Raytheon’s Javelin missile can already do this within the Griffin’s firing range, so the Griffin will have to compete on cost, responsiveness, and fire volume:

“During the test, warfigthers fired a Griffin missile from a launcher at a static target more than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away. Using GPS coordinates generated by a tethered aerostat, the missile directly impacted the target, achieving all test objectives.”

Nov 7/11: KC-130J-HH. Inside the Navy reports [subscription] on Griffin usage in Afghanistan:

“Less than a year after first introducing it to the fleet, the Marine Corps has already used the Harvest Hawk… to fire 74 Hellfire and 13 Griffin missiles… while also providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, a Marine aviation official said here recently.”

Aug 19/11: UAVs. Aviation Week reports on 2 key milestones for the MQ-8 Fire Scout helicopter UAV program. One is the addition of the larger MQ-8C/ Fire-X. The other is weapons approval for the MQ-8B, beginning with the APKWS-II laser-guided 70mm rocket that’s already cleared for use from Navy ships.

Raytheon’s laser-guided short-range Griffin mini-missile is slated for a demonstration before the end of August 2011, and will be the platform’s next weapon, as opposed to Northrop Grumman’s own GBU-44 Viper Strike.

May 12/11: LCS. Inside the Navy reports:

“The Navy may not have settled on the Griffin missile to replace the canceled Non-Line-Of-Sight missile on the Littoral Combat Ship, despite the service’s announcement in January that it planned to use the missile for both a short-term and long-term solution to the capability gap, officials told Inside the Navy last week…”

Jan 11/11: LCS. Media report that the U.S. Navy is moving towards selecting Raytheon’s Griffin missile as the replacement for the cancelled NLOS-LS, instead of taking over that program’s development now that the Army has pulled out. USN surface warfare division director Rear Adm. Frank Pandolfe told a Surface Navy Association convention audience in Arlington, VA that a 6-month review had settled on this Raytheon product, as something that can hit targets at “acceptable” ranges and cost.

That recommendation must be endorsed by the Navy before anything comes of this; if they do, the service would field the existing very short range Griffin by 2015, and try to develop a longer range version later. DoD Buzz | Arizona Daily Star.

Sept 8/10: UAVs. Flight International reports that the Griffin is being integrated onto MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper UAVs. They are not specific, but these are probably US Special Operations Command’s modified MALET drones.

Additional Readings

• Raytheon – Griffin.

• Defense Update – Griffin [and] Small Tactical Munition (STM); Griffin B

• DID- The Right to Bear Arms: Gunship Kits for America’s C-130s.

• DID – The USA’s New Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). Griffin-B was slated to replace the canceled NLOS-LS PAM missile, but was displaced by the radar-guided AGM-114L Hellfire Longbow.

• DID – Arming RQ-7 UAVs: The Shadow Knows…. Even Griffin may be too heavy for the RQ-7, though…

• DID – GBU-44 Viper Strike: Death From Above. A Griffin competitor from Northrop Grumman.

• Flight International (Sept 8/10) – Raytheon’s Griffin missile makes quiet gains with US military .