Article Posted on : - Apr 25, 2016

The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile. A Lockheed Martin photo

ORLANDO (BNS): Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract worth $116.8 million for the production of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) systems.

The contract awarded by the US Air Force exercises an option in the Lot 14 contract and includes 100 JASSM-ER cruise missiles.

The Lot 14 contract awarded in December 2015 included 146 baseline JASSMs for the US Air Force and international partners as well as 140 JASSM-ER missiles for the US Air Force.

Work under the new contract option is expected to be complete by June 2019.

The JASSM-ER received full-rate production approval in 2014.

Recent JASSM milestones include a contract award for additional F-16C/D integration activities for Poland, the $302 million Lot 14 award and the $305 million Lot 13 contract for JASSM and JASSM-ER, according to Lockheed Martin.

Armed with a penetrating blast-fragmentation warhead, JASSM and JASSM-ER can be used in all weather conditions. They share the same powerful capabilities and stealth characteristics, though JASSM-ER has more than two-and-a-half times the range of JASSM for greater standoff capability.

The cruise missiles employ an infrared seeker and enhanced digital anti-jam GPS receiver to dial into specific points on targets.

Effective against high-value, well-fortified, fixed and relocatable targets, JASSM and JASSM-ER are integrated on several US Air Force aircraft. Internationally, JASSM is carried on the F/A-18A/B.