Stealth plays a major role in many of today’s aircraft missions. The Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor is the state-of-the-art in stealth technology. With the need to carry and eject AMRAAM missiles from within concealed weapons bays, EDO, as part of the F-22 Team, developed a new launcher capable of achieving all internal bay armament delivery requirements.

The result is the LAU-142/A AMRAAM Vertical Eject Launcher (AVEL), which carries and ejects AIM-120C missiles from shallow internal missile bays for safe aircraft separation at mach speeds.

Compact design, optimized for weight-to-stiffness performance, was achieved for the AVEL through state-of-the-art computer engineering, analysis and manufacturing processes.

The AVEL employs a highly-reliable, non-pyrotechnic energy system controlled by aircraft electrical and hydraulic power. When commanded for in-flight missile launch, the AVEL system charges, and then safely ejects the missile through the air-flow boundary layer in less than 1/10 of a second. Safe ground loading operations are conducted with the AVEL in a ground-safe extended position.

The EDO AMRAAM Vertical Eject Launcher is the first in a new generation of non-pyrotechnic, low-weight, efficient aircraft armament delivery systems from the world leader in pneumatic S&RE.