The US Navy and US Air Force have awarded Lockheed Martin a US$172 million contract to produce the second lot of the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).

LRASM is a long range, precision-guided anti-ship missile leveraging off its Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range (JASSM-ER) heritage, and is designed to meet the needs of US Navy and Air Force Aircraft.

Armed with a penetrator and blast fragmentation warhead, LRASM employs precision routing and guidance, day or night in all weather conditions. The missile employs a multi-modal sensor suite, weapon data link and enhanced digital anti-jam global positioning system to detect and destroy specific targets within a group of numerous ships at sea.

LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, network links and GPS navigation in electronic warfare environments.

The air-launched variant provides an early operational capability for the US Navy’s offensive anti-surface warfare Increment I requirement. With the recent EOC declaration by the US Air Force for the B-1B, the focus is now on the US Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2019.

LRASM can be employed from guided missile destroyers and guided missile frigates with only software modifications to existing launch control systems.