LAU-127

The LAU-127 is an aircraft missile rail launcher built by Marvin Engineering Company of Inglewood, California, one of a launcher family that also includes the LAU-128, LAU-129, and LAU-139. Mounted on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, it lets the aircraft carry and fire the AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missile as well as the L, M, and X model AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range missile, and it supplies the mechanical, electrical, and data links between the missile and the aircraft's weapon systems. Variants of the launcher are also fitted to the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and it is used by the United States Navy along with the air forces of Kuwait and Switzerland. The launcher weighs 87 to 95 pounds, measures 106 inches long, and the LAU-127E/A variant costs about 65,000 dollars per unit.