Orbital ATK's Hard Target Void Sensing Fuze has received Milestone C status and is now approved for low-rate initial production.

The company's FMU-167/B Hard Target Void Sensing Fuze, or HTVSF, is under development by the U.S. Air Force. It is a programmable fuze for air-delivered, penetrating weapons for use against hardened, buried targets.

Orbital ATK says it provides multiple delay arming and detonation times and a void-sensing function, allowing for precision activation for weapon detonation.

"Orbital ATK continues to use new and developing technologies to keep pace with customer needs," said Cary Ralston, vice president and general manager of the Missile Products division of Orbital ATK's Defense Systems Group. "The Hard Target Void Sensing Fuze is another excellent example of how we are taking our exciting new technologies off the drawing board and into the hands of our warfighter."

The company said it expects a low-rate initial production contract for the fuze to be issued by the Air Force in a few weeks.