The US Air Force has awarded $449 million in contracts to Lockheed Martin to produce additional AGM-158 joint air-to-surface standoff missiles (JASSM), the company says.
Lockheed says the Lot 11 and 12 contracts, awarded on 19 December 2013, call for the production of 340 of the basic version of the missile and 100 of the extended-range JASSM-ER. The company says it will also supply systems engineering work, logistics support, tooling and test equipment under the contract terms.
The announcement brings the number of JASSM weapons under contract to more than 2,100, says Lockheed.
US Air Force
JASSM is a 907kg (2,000lb) air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) that can be carried by a variety of USAF aircraft, including the Boeing B-1B, B-52, F-15E, Lockheed F-16 and Northrop Grumman B-2.
The basic weapon, which is produced at Lockheed’s site in Troy, Alabama, has a Teledyne CAE J402-CA-100 turbojet engine and a range of more than 370km (200nm), says Lockheed. The -ER version, with larger fuel tanks and a more efficient Williams International F107-WR-105 turbofan engine, has a range of more than 926km.
JASSM weapons are armed with dual-mode penetrators and a blast-fragmentation warhead. The missiles can be deployed in all weather conditions and are guided with infrared seekers and GPS receivers, says Lockheed.
In addition to the USAF orders, Lockheed has so far won international sales contracts for JASSM from Australia and Finland for use on their Boeing F/A-18s.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
