GQM-163 Coyote



The GQM-163 Coyote is a supersonic sea-skimming missile target built by Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK) and used by the United States Navy as a successor to the MQM-8 Vandal. Orbital's proposal was chosen over the MA-31, a joint venture between Boeing and Zvezda-Strela. Orbital was awarded the development contract for the Coyote SSST in June 2000.

The Coyote is launched by a Hercules MK-70 booster, of similar design to those used by the obsolete RIM-67 Standard ER missiles. After the booster stage is expended the missile switches to an Aerojet MARC-R-282 solid-fuel rocket/ramjet engine for sustained flight.

In July 2018, Orbital Sciences Corp was awarded a US$52m modification to its existing contract, for 18 Lot 12 targets plus some Foreign Military Sales.

Operators



 * 🇺🇸 United States of America
 * US Navy
 * 🇫🇷 France
 * French Navy
 * 🇦🇺 Australia
 * Australian Navy
 * 🇯🇵 Japan
 * Japan Maritime Self Defense Force