The U.S. Air Force has awarded the multi-million dollar contract to upgrade its long-range, precision standoff missiles.
Pentagon’s No.1 weapons supplier Lockheed Martin Corp was awarded a $42,1 million contract modification for the upgrade and test of the Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM).
The deal, which was a modification to a previous contract, supports the Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver development and the development of the missile control unit gigabit cables of the JASSM air-to-surface powered missile.
Per the contract modification, work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2023.
The JASSM is an autonomous, air‐to‐ground, precision-guided standoff missile designed to defeat heavily defended, high priority enemy targets deep behind enemy lines.
JASSM can be released in virtually any type of weather and uses its inertial navigation and global positioning systems to find its intended target and then its infrared seeker for pinpoint accuracy just before impact. Once in the air, the stealthy cruise missile can reach high subsonic speeds at .85 mach. It is also equipped with an anti-jammer that keeps the enemy in its crosshairs regardless of their technology or capabilities.
According to Lockheed Martin, the weapon’s producer, it is designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and relocatable targets, while JASSM’s significant standoff range keeps aircrews well out of danger from hostile air defense systems.
