USAF B-1B Bomber release JASSM © 2013 Lockheed Martin U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin, two contracts for continued product...
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| USAF B-1B Bomber release JASSM © 2013 Lockheed Martin |
U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin, two contracts for continued production of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and the Extended Range (ER) variant totaling $449 million.
The Lot 11 and Lot 12 contracts include production of 340 baseline missiles and 100 ER missiles. The contracts also include systems engineering, logistics support, tooling and test equipment. This is the first time the JASSM program has been awarded consecutive production lots at the same time. These contracts bring the total number of JASSM cruise missiles on contract to over 2,100.
The JASSM program had several milestones, including Foreign Military Sales contracts to integrate JASSM onto the Republic of Finland’s F/A-18C/D aircraft. They also represent the third and fourth production lots for JASSM-ER, which successfully completed U.S. Air Force Initial Operational Test and Evaluation flight testing in August 2012.
JASSM and JASSM-ER are critical weapons for the U.S. Air Force. Highly effective against high-value, well-fortified, fixed and relocatable targets, the stealthy JASSM cruise missile is integrated on the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B, B-2, B-52, F-16 and F-15E. The B-1B also carries JASSM-ER.
Armed with a dual-mode penetrator and blast-fragmentation warhead, JASSM and JASSM-ER cruise autonomously day or night in all weather conditions. Both missiles share the same powerful capabilities and stealthy characteristics, though JASSM-ER has more than two-and-a-half times the range of the baseline JASSM for greater standoff margin. These 2,000-pound cruise missiles employ an infrared seeker and Global Positioning System receiver to dial into specific target aimpoints.
Internationally, JASSM is integrated on the Royal Australian Air Force’s F/A-18A/B. Future integration efforts will focus on the U.S. and international versions of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft and other international platforms.
JASSM is produced at the Lockheed’s award-winning manufacturing facility in Troy, Alabama, honored as one of the “Top 10 Best Plants in America” by Industry Weekmagazine for 2012. The facility has assembled more than 1,400 JASSM cruise missiles for testing and operational use towards a total U.S. Air Force objective of 4,900.
