LAU-118/A Guided Missile Launcher

The LAU-118/A missile launcher is used to launch the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile from aircraft such as the F-16 and F/A-18. The LAU-118/A provides the mechanical and electrical interface between the aircraft and the AGM-88A HARM missile. The LAU-118/A is delivered to the organizational level mated to the HARM missile as a preloaded accessory suspension equipment combination which is then attached to the aircraft’s parent bomb rack. In a typical installation on the F/A-18, that LAU-118/A launcher is attached to a BRU-32/A bomb rack, with the LAU-118 providing the umbilical interface between the aircraft and the HARM. Through this connection the HARM communicates with the aircraft's radar warning equipment and the system's dedicated launch computer via the aircraft's MIL-STD-1553B digital databus. The LAU-118/A can be configured with either 14- or 30-inch suspension.