Lockheed Martin has rolled out the first production AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) at the same time as the US General Accounting Office released a critical report on the weapon.
JASSM's first powered flight was last November and development and operational tests start in September. Initial Operational Test and Evaluation is expected to start early next year with low-rate production in fiscal year 2002.
Technical problems have stretched development of the weapon by 10 months and added $90 million to the cost.
As a result, the GAO says full-scale production of the stealthy cruise missile should not begin in November 2001 just to take advantage of negotiated prices that could expire. The GAO says: "The US Air Force may begin production without assurance that the government or the contractor will know enough about whether the design meets requirements or can be produced. As a result, the programme will be vulnerable to future cost increases and schedule delays."
The GAO recommends that the acquisition strategy should be revised to ensure the design is stable, that JASSM meets performance requirements and that manufacturing control is verified.
Lockheed Martin expects to earn more than $2 billion for supplying 2,400 AGM-158s to the USAF.
Source: Flight International