US B-52 and B-1 aircrafts to get JASSM cruise missile
Lockheed Martin has received a U.S. Air Force contract valued at $107 million for a seventh production lot of the JASSM(TM) cruise missile. The contract award will bring total contracted quantities of the cruise missile to 1,053.
The contract is for procurement of 111 JASSM production missiles, along with systems engineering and flight test support. In recent flight tests on the B-52 and B-1 aircraft, the stealthy standoff cruise missile proved its reliability and capabilities across a wide variety of targets - including hardened, underground bunkers and air defense systems.
JASSM Lot 5 missile deliveries are expected to be completed in 2008. The U.S. Air Force plans to procure 4,900 JASSMs over the life of the program.
A 2,000-pound class weapon with a dual-mode penetrator and blast fragmentation warhead, JASSM cruises autonomously 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 defend against. The missile is integrated on B-1, B-2, B-52 and F-16 aircraft. It is also planned for integration on the F-15.
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