Lockheed Martin bags $3.2 billion US Air Force contract for JASSM and LRASM
A B-1B Lancer carrying an AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile. (Photo: US Air Force / Wikimedia Commons)
The US Air Force had awarded Lockheed Martin with a US$3.2 billion sole-source contract to produce joint air-to-surface standoff missiles (JASSM) and long-range anti-ship missiles (LRASM).
The contract focused on Lot 22 JASSM and LRASM and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) missiles for Japan, the Netherlands, Finland and Poland. As reported by Reuters, in May 2024, Poland signed a reported $735 million contact with the US for the supply of JASSM-ER (extended-range) missiles.
JASSMs – one of Lockheed’s first cruise missiles – are conventional, air-launched missiles, designed for the US Air Force and international allies, while LRASMs are precision-guided, long-range anti-ship missiles, designed to meet the demands of the US Air Force and Navy.
On 16 September 2024, Lockheed Martin unveiled its AGM-158 XR cruise missile concept, which it claimed would offer increased standoff attack range. The XR missile would also be compatible with the same platforms that deploy the JASSM and LRASM, including the F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
Hanwha Aerospace and GA-ASI join forces to co-develop UAVs
The $510 million partnership will see Hanwha invest to co-develop and manufacture the Gray Eagle STOL, with a maiden flight test expected by 2027.
-
Sweden commits to acquire four C-390 Millennium aircraft
The acquisition of four C-390 aircraft follows the country’s signing of an MoU in 2023 and formal selection in 2024. It will join the existing contract held by the Netherlands and Austria.
-
Airbus to fly new CUAS UAV prototype this year
The counter-UAS prototype, named Low-cost Air Defence or ‘LOAD’, will be used to combat kamikaze UAS.