ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 16 (UPI) — The U.S. Air Force has contracted Lockheed Martin for continued production of standard Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles and its Extended Range variant.
The production LOT 13 award is for 140 baseline JASSMs for U.S. and international partners and 140 JASSM-ER missiles, data, tooling and test equipment.
Lockheed Martin says the award carries a value of $305.4 million and is the largest order for the extended-range variant.
“JASSM and JASSM-ER have an important role in the United States’ and its allied partners’ long-term strategic defense plans,” said Jason Denney, program director of long-range strike systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The missiles delivered under Lot 13 will provide an effective and more affordable capability against anti-access/area denial threats, thus providing a strategic deterrent for U.S. and international warfighters.”
The JASSM missile, operational on many U.S. military aircraft, have recently been sold to Finland and Poland through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.
JASSM and JASSM-ER carry a penetrating blast-fragmentation warhead and have stealth characteristics. Features include an infrared seeker and an enhanced digital anti-jam GPS receiver.
Lockheed Martin is under contract for more than 2,300 JASSM missiles.
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