Scott N. Romaniuk and László Csicsmann
The air war in the Middle East is being quietly re-armed with inexpensive precision. Over the past year, laser-guided 70mm APKWS II rockets — originally designed to turn unguided rockets into pinpoint air-to-surface weapons — have emerged as the US Air Force’s workhorse against small, inexpensive aerial threats. What began as a field expedient is now established doctrine: fighters and attack aircraft are routinely equipped with salvoes of guided rockets to counter drone swarms and slow cruise missiles.
The rationale is straightforward. High-end air-to-air missiles are costly and limited in number. An AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) can cost around a million dollars; and the AIM-9X Sidewinder several hundred thousand. By contrast, the APKWS II guidance section costs only in the mid-five figures — commonly reported at $15,000–$20,000, with some estimates up to $35,000 — and the complete 70 mm round (guidance plus motor and warhead) adds only a few thousand dollars more. This converts an unguided rocket into an inexpensive precision intercept. In skies increasingly saturated with loitering munitions and small UAVs, the cost-exchange decisively favors defenders who can unleash many accurate shots instead of a handful of million-dollar interceptors.
Operational Impact
First deployed on F-16s, APKWS II later expanded to F-15Es, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, and AH-64 Apaches. While UH-60 and MH-60 variants tested the system for precision strikes over a decade ago, modern integration continues to focus on fixed-wing and attack helicopter platforms. Fired from seven-shot pods that can be stacked on a single pylon, the rockets give platforms like the Strike Eagle the ability to carry dozens of rounds while preserving stations for other missiles. This loadout flexibility enables a single sortie to handle both conventional air combat and mass UAV defense, reducing reliance on scarce, high-value interceptors.
Tactically, APKWS II fills a dangerous capability gap. During the April 2024 Iranian barrage against Israel — when fighters reportedly depleted missile stocks chasing waves of drones — commanders faced a stark dilemma: risk exhausting high-value missiles or attempt improvised strikes with bombs poorly suited to agile aerial targets. Laser-guided rockets provided an intermediate option: precision against small, maneuvering targets at a fraction of the cost, with deeper magazines and simpler logistics.
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