Which designation is a missile; multi-mode (laser + GPS/INS; JAGM)?

• A. AGM-179A
• B. AGM-114P
• C. GBU-53
• D. AGM-114N4

Answer: (A)

Multi-mode guidance gives a weapon the ability to be steered by a laser designator or to navigate autonomously using GPS/INS, offering flexibility in how it engages targets and in degraded environments. The designation that denotes this joint, multi-mode air-to-ground missile is the AGM-179A. This missile was developed under the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile program to combine laser guidance and GPS/INS guidance, allowing both laser-designated and autonomous targeting to hit moving or well-defended targets.

The other designations point to different systems: the Hellfire variants are separate air-to-ground missiles with their own single or dual-mode seekers, while the GBU-53 is a guided bomb, not a missile, and uses a tri-mode seeker but is categorized differently from air-to-ground missiles.