On June 1, defense contractor BAE Systems announced its first successful flight test of a ground-launched variant of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rocket. In launches at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the company conducted “several successful shots” of the weapon from a ground-based launcher. APKWS is a laser guidance modification to the unguided 2.75-inch rockets traditionally employed by helicopters and other aircraft. The ground-launched variant of the APKWS was first announced in 2018.