Second Successful Engine Test of Joint Standoff Weapon Extended Range
The Joint Standoff Weapon Extended Range missile moved one step closer to powered flight testing when Raytheon Company successfully conducted a second ground test of the JSOW-ER engine at the facility of Hamilton Sundstrand, late last year.
The Raytheon- and Hamilton Sundstrand-funded test evaluated a flush inlet, engine and exhaust design. This test keeps the JSOW-ER on track for further functional ground tests, a captive carry flight test in 2008, and a free- flight demonstration in 2009.
JSOW-ER, which comprises a portion of Raytheon’s response to the Air Force’s request for information for alternative solutions to the Joint Air-to- Surface Standoff Missile, is a proposed variant of the combat-proven JSOW, with a price goal of $350,000 per unit.
JSOW-ER’s affordability and longer range can, in large part, be attributed to the weapon’s 150-pound thrust class Hamilton Sundstrand engine. The engine, which is the same one used in Raytheon’s Miniature Air Launched Decoy, will help keep the JSOW-ER affordable while reducing the MALD’s(TM) cost per unit, thanks to economies of scale. JSOW-ER will also incorporate the same cost initiatives that reduced the unit cost of JSOW Block II by more than 25 percent.
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