BIG Upgrade to Ukraine's APKWS Rockets - Fire and Forget Mode

Ukraine's VAMPIRE SAM is about to get more lethal

The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), America's budget-friendly guided rocket that's been wrecking drones and cruise missiles in Ukraine, is about to get even deadlier.

BAE Systems is upgrading the APKWS with a fire-and-forget function, eliminating the need for constant laser designation. This means fewer headaches for operators and a much more efficient way to swat drones (or cruise missiles) out of the sky.

This development was quietly revealed in the 2025 Marine Aviation Plan, which mentions the certification of a "suitable proximity fuse."

But, BAE is currently finalizing an infrared guidance system as well.

A fire-and-forget version of APKWS would be a game-changer. The standard model forces operators to keep the target illuminated until impact, making it a single-channel weapon’s one shot, one target at a time. That’s a serious limitation for air defense.

Infrared guidance, on the other hand, ditches that problem entirely. It allows multiple threats to be engaged simultaneously, with the only real challenge being fire control, making sure you’re not wasting multiple missiles on a single target or interfering with other air defense systems. In short, an IR-guided APKWS could dramatically boost engagement capacity without adding extra workload on operators.

This means APKWS will no longer rely solely on direct hits—it’ll now have the ability to detonate simply by getting close to a target. Given that Russian drones aren’t exactly known for their agility (unless crashing due to operator incompetence counts), this is a game-changer.

APKWS: Cheap, Deadly, and Now Even Smarter

Originally designed as an air-to-ground precision weapon, the APKWS is a 70mm Hydra rocket upgraded with a guidance kit.

It’s cheap—about $20,000 to $30,000 per shot—making it a steal compared to traditional air defense missiles that cost hundreds of thousands. And now, it's evolving at a breakneck pace, proving that cost-effective doesn't mean ineffective.

In Ukraine, it’s already making mincemeat of Russian drones and even cruise missiles, much to the dismay of Kremlin accountants trying to balance war expenditures with yacht payments.