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Fast, Sharp, Deadly: The JQL ‘Jackal’ Explained
What Makes the ‘Jackal’ Air Defence System So Unique?
Meet Lockheed Martin’s new vertical missile launcher air defence system, named JAGM Quad Launcher (JQL) “Jackal.”
It is an air defence system, and it works as you can see in the image. It launches its missile straight up at a 90-degree angle, then makes a sharp turn after reaching the required height and begins moving toward the target locked by the radar.
It is said that it is mainly designed to target drones and small flying objects. Talking about latency, it should have very low or almost zero latency, because it first goes straight up at 90 degrees, then turns toward the target, and then moves fast. It goes through 2–3 phases to actually launch and hit the target.
It is a good thing that it has very low latency and takes minimal time to act, which makes it effective.
Feature and Specification
- Weight (Missile)~110 lbs per missile
- Weight (Launcher)~1,500–2,000 lbs
- Coverage360-degree
- Operational Range0.5 km to 16+ km
- Top Speed up to Mach 2+ (Supersonic)
