The US Navy (USN) has commenced flight tests that will see the Lockheed Martin F-35C cleared for the Lockheed AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).
In an image dated 10 September, an F-35C – the naval version of the F-35 – is shown carrying a pair of LRASMs, one under each wing.
The image was taken near NAS Patuxent River in Maryland, where the USN conducts development and testing work for its air platforms.
“As part of ongoing integration efforts, the Pax River F-35 Integrated Test Force team flew two days of test flights to evaluate flutter, loads, and flying qualities with two AGM-158 loaded on external stations,” says the USN.
The USN’s workhorse carrier fighter, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, is already capable of firing LRASM, as is the US Air Force’s Boeing B-1B bomber.
China’s unprecedented naval build-up in recent years has seen a great emphasis placed on the deployment of a new generation of anti-ship weapons.
Though LRASM is too large to be carried inside the F-35’s weapon bays, the ability to load the weapon on the F-35C as well as the F/A-18E/F will offer greater flexibility to USN commanders.
According to the USN, LRASM uses semi-autonomous guidance algorithms to identify and pinpoint targets from “less precise” coordinate data. This in turn reduces the service’s dependency on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, communications network links and GPS-based navigation when conducting strikes.
