The Pentagon Friday certified a restructured program for Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM).
The restructured program consists of two separate increments: the JASSM Baseline increment and the JASSM-Extended Range (ER) increment. Both efforts will be Acquisition Category 1D programs.
The Air Force negotiated an agreement for Lot 7 and a Not to Exceed (NTE) price for Lot 8. Lots 7 and 8 are the next full-rate production contract options to be exercised. The Air Force plans to award the Lot 7 contract in June for approximately 115 JASSM missiles, according to the service.
Development and testing activities for the JASSM-ER (extended range) are scheduled to resume this June with a Milestone C production decision scheduled for FY ’10.
Also scheduled for FY ’10 is the start of the development of a Maritime Interdiction/Anti-Surface Warfare version of JASSM.
JASSM is a precision cruise missile designed for launch from outside area defenses to kill hard, medium-hardened, soft, and area type targets. The Air Force is confident that the JASSM is a very capable, reliable, and cost-effective missile.