Exchange program helps services acquire laser missiles
for free.
by Jean Grace V.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The producer of the laser-guided AGM-65 Maverick missile, Raytheon
Corp., is recycling unused missiles in the military's inventory to
help services acquire needed weapons at almost no cost.
Through a "replacement exchange in-kind" program overseen
by the Government Services Administration, the company refurbishes and
upgrades existing Mavericks and sells them to international customers.
Part of the proceeds is placed in a credit pool, which the services can
use to buy newer or different variants of missiles, says Chuck Pinney,
Maverick program director.
The program so far has raised more than $81 million in exchange
credits and company executives expect $30 to $70 million more credits
from projected sales. The military services can apply those credits to
weapons deemed urgently necessary--in this case, laser-guided Mavericks,
which Raytheon completed delivery of 12 years ago.
Pinney says the exchange program will enable Raytheon to restart
its laser Maverick product line to meet military commanders'
requests and bolster the services' inventories.
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NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.