– BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill (APK) guidance kit for the Hydra 70 unguided rocket is getting an evolutionary iteration as the company works towards defeating the interceptor-to-threat cost ratio and UAS threat. It was on display at the Sea Air Space 2025 conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
Dave Smialek, Director of Business Development in Precision Guidance & Sensing Solutions at BAE Systems, talked about the dual-mode APKWS II configuration on the floor of the Navy League’s Sea Air Space 2025 exhibition.
“So we’re working on what we call a dual-mode seeker. So, it’s an infrared seeker on top of the standard APK[WS II]. And the purpose is to increase the rate of fire,” Smialek explained. “So now you’ll still lase the target. You’ll do an anoint and shoot. So rather than having to hold the lase for the duration [of the flight], from launch to terminal, you can now anoint your target, fire the rocket, [it] heads out, [and the] infrared seeker picks up the target.”
Then you can “move to your next target, do the same thing,” he continued.
“It’s all about increasing the rate of fire and doing a kind of a pseudo fire-and-forget capability.”
So, to summarize, an operator would initially lase the target to lock the infrared seeker onto it. Then after firing, the new APKWS variant would travel to its target autonomously. This is a major increase in efficiency over having to maintain a laser lock on the target throughout the weapon’s flight. BAE’s Smialek further described the dual-mode APKWS II as a next-generation evolution of the munition. The basic configuration consists of a laser guidance kit slotted in between one of a variety of warhead options and a standard 70mm rocket motor.
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, at left, looks at a mock-up of a standard laser-guided APKWS II rocket at BAE Systems’ booth at Sea Air Space 2025 – Howard Altman
This arrangement has been key to helping keep the overall unit cost of the munitions down, as well as allowing for the use of existing warhead and rocket motor stocks. The price point for the laser guidance unit is between $15,000 to $20,000, with the other components typically adding another few thousand dollars to the total cost.
Putting the infrared seeker on the nose of the dual-mode APKWS II is prompting changes to the warhead arrangement, which BAE Systems is still working out.
“When we go to the dual mode, we’ll go to a mid-body warhead. We’re going through lethality studies now that are showing really no impact to [the] end game,” Smialek said. “Actually, the lethality analysis is showing that you’re getting … potentially a greater blast-frag[mentation] pattern. But you should have no loss of lethality based on the mid-body warhead.”
How the new warhead configuration, together with the additional infrared seeker, will impact the unit cost of the dual-mode APKWS II compared to the baseline version is unclear. Smialek said that the new version is being developed with an eye toward “maintaining the affordability” offered by the original design.
Even if the dual-mode APKWS II is two or three times more expensive than laser-guided-only types, it would still be significantly cheaper than traditional air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. Current generation AIM-9X Sidewinders and AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) air-to-air missiles have price tags around $450,000 and $1 million, respectively. The latest variants of the Stinger short-range man-portable surface-to-air missile reportedly each cost around $400,000, while higher-end interceptors like the Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) have a price tag of close to $4.2 million.
Dual-mode APKWS II will also retain the magazine depth benefits that the baseline version already offers, which again have particular value in the air-to-air role. A traditional air-to-air for the F-16, for instance, is just six missiles. Swapping just one of those missiles for a pair of seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, something we have seen on Vipers operating in the Red Sea region, more than triples the number of total engagement opportunities that the jet has on a single sortie.
The addition of the infrared seeker to the proven APKWS II package raises the possibility of future iterations of the design, as well, though BAE’s Smialek says that the company is presently focused on the new dual-mode configuration. The company says it is targeting the end of 2026 to at least have the development of the new version of the APKWS II, which is currently being internally funded, largely wrapped up. When a branch of the U.S. military or any other customers might field it remains unknown.
The mock-up of the dual-mode APKWS II with the additional infrared seeker BAE Systems displayed at Sea Air Space 2025 -Jamie Hunter
The next generation APK guidance kit adds an infrared seeker to the nose of the rocket for dual mode seeker capability. It builds on the capabilities delivered by the FALCO upgrade program which was delivered to combat aircraft in the Middle East to drastically improve counter-UAS capabilities.
FALCO-upgraded APKWS rockets were used in the shootdown of a Houthi UAS in March 2025. Naval News understands that FALCO software upgrades were delivered as part of operational requirements needed to increase lethality in air-to-air engagements. Those rockets are actively being used in the Red Sea with a high probability of kill.
Naval News understands that the delivered FALCO program, or the Fixed Wing, Air Launched, Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ordnance program, sought to deliver a more capable air-to-air APKWS rocket to warfighters for an emerging operational need. The software upgrade was rolled out seamlessly and enabled a significant improvement in capability against UAS targets.
FALCO is a dedicated counter-UAS program in the U.S. Air Force. It is not immediately clear if articles have been delivered to the U.S. Navy or international customers, though a sale of FALCO APKWS rockets was approved to Saudi Arabia in March.
The next-generation APKWS will build on those delivered FALCO capabilities while adding an improved counter-UAS infrared seeker. The new APK kit has already entered preliminary testing, funded by the U.S. Air Force. BAE plans on continuing development of the new guidance kit because of its demonstrated performance jump compared to its predecessor, APKWS II.
APKWS is integrated with over 45 platforms including the U.S. Navy’s MH-60S/R Seahawk and U.S. Marine Corps’ UH-1, AH-1, and MV-22 rotary wing platforms. The integration of infrared guided APKWS rockets would allow rotary wing platforms to serve in fleet defense or expeditionary air defense roles while still performing mission sets like anti-submarine warfare or troop transport.
Sources: Naval News; The War Zone