Lockheed Martin’s F-35B has conducted a first test-flight carrying the airframer’s AGM-158B Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).

Performed from the US Naval Air Systems Command’s Patuxent River site in Maryland, the sortie – which saw one of the weapons carried beneath each wing – launched a flight sciences test programme for the combination, Lockheed says.

F-35B LRASM

Source: Lockheed Martin

AGM-158B anti-ship missile is too large for carriage within the F-35’s internal weapons bays

“As part of the F-35’s Block 4 upgrade, AGM-158 strike systems (the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile [JASSM] and LRASM) are being integrated for external carriage on the F-35, adding more multi-role mission capabilities,” the company adds.

A carrier-variant F-35C was flown with a pair of LRASM weapons installed for the first time last September.

“Integration of the AGM-158 strike systems family delivers increased reach and lethality against heavily protected, strategic targets,” says Jon Hill, vice-president and general manager, air dominance and strike weapons at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

Too large for carriage within the F-35’s internal weapons bays, the stealthy, long-range JASSM/LRASM missile has a launch weight of approximately 907kg (2,000lb).

European Defence Editor Craig Hoyle has reported on the UK, European and international military aviation sector for almost 30 years, and has also been the Editor of Flight International since 2015. He joined FlightGlobal in 2003, and also compiles our annual World Air Forces directory.View full Profile

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