The AWS is a low-cost guided missile system that uses military and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components. Launched from various platforms by a small rocket booster, the AWS is designed to carry a 200-pound payload to a target several hundred miles away. The missile is equipped with both line-of-sight and satellite data links, enabling it to fly directly to its target guided by GPS or fly to an area and loiter for hours until a forward observer directs the weapon to a target.