Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Lockheed Martin awarded $99M for air-launched cruise missiles for U.S. allies

The U.S. Department of Defense said that Lockheed Martin Corp. has been awarded a $99 million contract for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) Foreign Military Sales production support.

The award, which was announced by the Department of Defense on Aug. 13, will provide for lifecycle support for all efforts related to JASSM and any JASSM variants in the areas of system upgrades, integration, production, sustainment, management and logistical support.

This contract involves foreign military sales to Finland, Poland and Australia.

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“Work will be performed at Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed by August 2024,” said in DoD’s statement. 

JASSM is a long-range, conventional, air-to-ground, precision standoff missile for the U.S. and allied forces. Designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and relocatable targets, JASSM’s significant standoff range keeps aircrews well out of danger from hostile air defense systems.

A 2,000-pound class weapon with a penetrator/blast fragmentation warhead, JASSM employs precision routing and guidance in adverse weather, day or night, using a state-of-the-art infrared seeker in addition to the anti-jam GPS to find a specific aimpoint on the target. Its stealthy airframe makes it extremely difficult to defeat.

Effective against high-value, well-fortified, fixed and relocatable targets, JASSM 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. Internationally, JASSM is carried on the F/A-18A/B and the F-18C/D aircraft.

Produced at the company’s manufacturing facility in Troy, Alabama, more than 2,000 JASSMs have been delivered. Lockheed Martin delivered the 2,000th JASSM to the U.S. Air Force in August 2016.

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Executive Editor

About author:

Dylan Malyasov
Dylan Malyasov
Dylan Malyasov is the editor-in-chief of Defence Blog. He is a journalist, an accredited defense advisor, and a consultant. His background as a defense advisor and consultant adds a unique perspective to his journalistic endeavors, ensuring that his reporting is well-informed and authoritative. read more

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