First AH-1Z JAGM Launched in INDOPACOM During Expo Strike

Video by Cpl. Christopher Lape

31st Marine Expeditionary Unit

June 26, 2024 | 5:49

U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Huey and AH-1Z attack helicopter pilots with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Rein.), 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, arm and fire an AGM-179 joint air-to-ground munition (JAGM), as well as refueling at a forward arming and refueling point, during an expeditionary (EXPO) strike training mission, off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, June 26, 2024. This EXPO strike launched the first live JAGM from an AH-1Z in the Indo-Pacific region, and employed a variety of munitions against a high-speed towed target. The JAGM provides a true “fire and forget” capability to guide the missile to a target, able to destroy fast-moving maritime targets like fast attack craft (FAC) in rough sea states. A FARP extends the range of aircraft in their ability to provide firepower, as well as fuel, to reach the objective and return home. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Christopher Lape)