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BAE Systems Electronic Systems in Nashua, New Hampshire, in early December disclosed the award from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control of a USD60 million contract to supply additional seeker systems for the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).
LRASM is a joint-service (US Navy: USN/US Air Force: USAF) 2400 lb (1088.6 kg) air-launched high-subsonic conventional precision-guided stand-off anti-ship missile derived from the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile - Extended Range (JASSM-ER) weapon system. The AGM-158C retains the JASSM-ER 1000 lb penetrator/blast fragmentation warhead and enhanced digital anti-jam GPS, but introduces a multimode sensor/seeker package developed by BAE Systems (which combines a passive radio-frequency (RF) long-range sensor for wide area target acquisition and an imaging infrared seeker for terminal targeting), and a weapon data link L-Band Unit (LBU) supplied by ViaSat. The missile has a stated air-launched range of ‘greater than 200 n miles’ (370 km).
LRASM transitioned from a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) demonstration activity to a USN Program of Record (POR) in February 2014. The joint service LRASM Deployment Office (LDO) and Lockheed Martin have developed LRASM as the weapon solution to meet the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) Increment 1 requirement.
![BAE Systems Electronic Systems will manufacture additional seekers for the AGM-158C LRASM under a USD60 million contract from Lockheed Martin awarded in June 2020. The image depicts LRASM mounted on the inner pylons of an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. (BAE Systems)](/images/default-source/news-images/fg_3840628-jmr-9490.jpg?sfvrsn=cf0f209c_2)
BAE Systems Electronic Systems will manufacture additional seekers for the AGM-158C LRASM under a USD60 million contract from Lockheed Martin awarded in June 2020. The image depicts LRASM mounted on the inner pylons of an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. (BAE Systems)
OASuW Increment 1 is an accelerated acquisition programme to procure a limited number of air-launched missiles to address a near-term fleet capability gap – identified under an Urgent Operational Needs Statement (UONS) generated in 2008 by the US Pacific Command – for a flexible, long-range, advanced, anti-surface capability against high-threat maritime targets.
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