By Marina Malenic
The prime contractor for the stealthy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) is expected to complete retrofits on previously delivered missiles by next fall, while the weapon is expected to be eligible for deployment in January, according to the Air Force.
“Corrective actions resulting from knowledge gained from Lot 5 flight tests and subsequent failure review boards have been incorporated into Lot 7 missiles and are being retrofitted into Lot 6 and earlier missiles,” Air Force spokesman Andy Bourland said via e-mail recently. “The retrofit process is ongoing and are projected to be completed by fall 2011.”
Prime contractor Lockheed Martin [LMT] volunteered to fund a portion of that work.
After years of testing difficulties and cost growth, the Pentagon last year threatened to terminate the program unless a new round of tests demonstrated significantly better reliability. Last summer, the missile succeeded in 15 of 17 flight tests. The retrofits are being conducted to incorporate corrections to problems discovered during early test failures.
Meanwhile, the multibillion-dollar JASSM effort is on track to begin its ninth production lot in January, along with a first production lot for the extended range (ER) variant of the weapon, the military’s program manager has said. This will meet the Air Force’s initial operational capability (IOC) requirements, allowing for deployment.
According to the Air Force, a Dec. 10 meeting is scheduled to allow the Pentagon’s acquisition executive to decide whether the ER program will enter Low-Rate Initial Production.
JASSM-ER has a 10-for-11 flight test record. The Initial Operational Test & Evaluation phase, comprising 16 flights, is scheduled for the second quarter of 2011, with deliveries beginning in late 2012. JASSM-ER is a precision-guided standoff missile with more than two-and-a-half times the range of the baseline JASSM.
According to the Air Force, JASSM-ER “had the benefit of being able to incorporate lessons learned, design improvements, and process improvements based on the challenges the baseline program endured.”
JASSM has been demonstrated on the B-1, B-2, B-52 and F-16 aircraft. Future platforms include the F-15E, F/A-18 and F-35. The Air Force eventually expects to acquire 4,900 JASSMs and JASSM-ERs, officials have said.