Successful Launch of a New American Anti-Ship Missile

Lockheed Martin completed the third successful test of the US Navy surface launch long-range anti-ship missile

 
Successful Launch of a New American Anti-Ship Missile

An artist’s concept of a Lockheed Martin LRASM fired from a U.S. Navy VLS tube. Lockheed Martin image.

Lockheed Martin has successfully carried out a controlled flight test of the US Navy’s long-range anti-ship missile (LRASM) surface-launch variant, reported the naval-technology website. The event marked the third successful surface-launched LRASM test.

The operational LRASM was fired from the MK41 VLS launcher, which flew a pre-planned low-altitude profile, collecting aerodynamics agility data, and then returned to its pre-determined destination.

The test proved the maturity of the missile, which loaded mission data using the modified Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System (TTWCS+), and aligned mission data with a moving ship in a dynamic at-sea environment.

In 2013 and 2014, the LRASM was also tested successfully from a ground-based MK 41 VLS Desert Ship.

Based on the joint air-to-surface standoff missile extended range (JASSM-ER) system, the LRASM is designed to meet the needs of navy and United States Air Force (USAF) warfighters in a robust, anti-access / area-denial threat environment.

Featuring a multi-modal sensor, weapon data link, and an enhanced digital anti-jam global positioning system to detect and destroy enemy threats, the LRASM missile is armed with a 1,000lb penetrator and blast-fragmentation warhead.

The air-launched variant provides an early operational capability for the Navy’s offensive anti-surface warfare Increment I requirement to be integrated onboard the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B in 2018 and on the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2019.