The AGM-158 JASSM is a low observable standoff air-launched cruise missile
developed in the United States. It is a large, semi-stealthy long-range weapon
of the 2,000 pounds class. The missile's development began in 1995, but a number
of problems during testing delayed its introduction into service until 2009. As
of 2014, the JASSM has entered foreign service in Australia and Finland, and
been ordered by Poland. An extended range version of the missile, the
AGM-158B JASSM-ER, entered service in 2014.
Program overview = Origins=
The JASSM project began in 1995 after the cancellation of the AGM-137 TSSAM
project. The TSSAM was designed as a high precision stealthy missile for use
at stand-off ranges, but poor management of the project resulted in rising costs.
Since the requirement for such weapons still existed, the military quickly
announced a follow-up project with similar goals. Initial contracts for two
competing designs were awarded to Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas in
1996, and the missile designations AGM-158A and AGM-159A were allocated to
the two weapons. Lockheed Martin's AGM-158A won and a contract for further
development was awarded in 1998. The AGM-158A is powered by a Teledyne
CAE J402 turbojet. Before flight the wings are kept folded to reduce size.
Upon launch the wings flip out automatically. There is a single
vertical tail. Guidance is via inertial navigation with updating from a global
positioning system. Target recognition and terminal homing is via an imaging
infrared seeker. A data link allows the missile to transmit its location and
status during flight, allowing improved bomb damage assessment. The warhead is a
WDU-42/B 450 kg penetrator. The JASSM will be carried by a wide range of
aircraft: the F-15E, F-16, F/A-18, F-35, B-1B, B-2 and B-52 are all intended to
carry the weapon. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary
Assessments has suggested lightening the warhead of the AGM-158A to increase its
range. That way it would be able to be fired a greater distance from enemy air
defenses while being cheaper and available in greater numbers for
protracted conflicts than the AGM-158B JASSM-ER variant.
= Problematic development= In 1999, powered flight tests of the
missile began. These were successful, and production of the JASSM began in
December 2001. The weapon began operational testing and evaluation in
2002. Late that year, two missiles failed tests and the project was delayed
for three months before completing development in April 2003. Two more
launches failed, this time as a result of launcher and engine problems. In July
2007, a $68 million program to improve JASSM reliability and recertify the
missile was approved by the Pentagon. A decision on whether to continue with the
program was deferred until Spring 2008. Lockheed agreed to fix the missiles at
its own cost and has tightened up its manufacturing processes.
On 27 August 2009, David Van Buren, assistant secretary of the Air Force for
acquisition, said that there would be a production gap for the JASSM while
further tests were held. Further tests in 2009 were more successful however,
with 15 out of 16 rounds hitting the intended target, well above the 75%
benchmark set for the test. As such JASSM is now cleared for service entry.
The United States Air Force plans to acquire up to 4,900 AGM-158 missiles.
Meanwhile, the United States Navy had originally planned to acquire 453
AGM-158 missiles but pulled out of the program in favor of employing the proven
SLAM-ER. = Foreign sales=
In 2006 the Australian government announced the selection of the Lockheed
Martin JASSM to equip the Royal Australian Air Force's F/A-18 Hornet
fighters. This announcement came as part of a program to phase out the RAAFs
F-111 strike aircraft, replacing the AGM-142 Popeye stand off missile and
providing a long-range strike capability to the Hornets. JASSM was selected over
the SLAM-ER after the European Taurus KEPD 350 withdrew its tender offer,
despite the KEPD 350 being highly rated in the earlier RFP process, due to their
heavily involvement in the series preparation for the German Air Force,
their troop trials in South Africa and their final negotiations with the
Spanish Air Force which finally lead to a contract. As of mid-2010 the JASSM is
in production for Australia and will soon enter service.
Finland had also previously planned to purchase JASSM missiles for the Finnish
Air Force as part of modernization plans of its F/A-18 Hornet fleet. However, in
February 2007 the United States declined to sell the missiles, while agreeing to
proceed as planned with other modernization efforts. This episode led
to speculation in the Finnish media on the state of Finnish - American
diplomatic relations. However, in October 2011 the US DSCA announced that
they had given permission for a possible sale to Finland. An order, valued 178.5
million Euros was placed in March 2012. Since 2012 Lockheed has received three
Finnish integration-related projects. Finland's integration work is scheduled
to be completed by the end of 2016. "JASSM is just as much a deterrent
capability, as it is a strike capability. It makes the enemy pause and
think twice about aggressive action, because it provides precision strike of
a wide range of valuable targets." South Korea has sought the JASSM to
boost the South Korean Air Force's striking capability but were rebuffed by
Washington's unwillingness to sell the missile for strategic reasons. The South
Korean government instead turned their attention towards the Taurus KEPD 350
missile. In 2014, Poland expected the
Congressional green light for the purchase of the AGM-158 JASSM to extend
the ground penetration capabilities of their top-of-the-line F-16 Block 52+
fighters. Should the US Congress give it a go, the missiles should be deployed
with the Polish Air Force in 2015. Congress approved the sale in early
October, and negotiations concluded in early November 2014. NATO member Poland
signed a $250 million contract to upgrade its F-16s and equip the jets
with JASSM advanced cruise missiles in a ceremony at Poznan AB, Poland, on 11
December 2014. The missiles are expected to enter operational service in 2017,
and Poland is contemplating an additional purchase for the long-range
JASSM-ER version. In December 2015 the production contract for Lot 13 was
signed. The contract includes 140 JASSMs for Finland, Poland and the US, 140
JASSM-ER missiles for the US, and data, tooling and test equipment. It's said to
be the last production lot that will include non-ER versions. Poland's first
modified F-16's should be ready by 2017, when the first missiles are delivered.
The work is scheduled to be complete by Jun 29, 2019.
JASSM-Extended Range The US Air Force studied various
improvements to the AGM-158, resulting in the development of the JASSM-Extended
Range, which received the designation AGM-158B in 2002. Using a more efficient
engine and larger fuel volume in an airframe with the same external
dimensions as the JASSM, the JASSM-ER is intended to have a range of over 575
miles as compared to the JASSM's range of about 230 miles. Other possible
improvements were studied but ultimately not pursued, including a submunition
dispenser warhead, new types of homing head, and a new engine giving ranges in
excess of 620 miles. The JASSM-ER has 70% hardware commonality and 95%
software commonality with the original AGM-158 JASSM.
The first flight test of the JASSM-ER occurred on May 18, 2006 when a missile
was launched from a U.S. Air Force B-1 bomber at the White Sands Missile Range
in New Mexico. The initial platform for the JASSM-ER is the B-1. While both the
original JASSM and the JASSM-ER are several inches too long to be carried in
the internal weapons bay of the F-35 Lightning II, the F-35 will be able to
carry both missiles externally, although this will compromise the aircraft's
stealth features. The JASSM-ER entered service with the
USAF in April 2014. Although the B-1 is currently the only aircraft able to
deploy it, it will be integrated onto the B-52, F-15E, and F-16. The Air Force
approved full-rate production of the JASSM-ER in December 2014. It is hoped
that fielding of the JASSM-ER will allow the service to save money by retiring
the conventional air-launch cruise missile, a conventional warhead-equipped
version of the nuclear-tipped ALCM, having the long-range conventional
strike munition role filled by the newer missile. Integration of the JASSM-ER
onto the B-52 and F-16 is expected to wrap up in 2018, with the F-15E
completed after that. On 14 May 2015, the head of the Air
Force Research Laboratory nominated the JASSM-ER as the optimal air vehicle to
carry the Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project
payload. CHAMP is an electronic warfare technology that fries electronic
equipment with bursts of high-power microwave energy, non-kinetically
destroying them. The JASSM-ER was chosen because it is an operational system, so
CHAMP is to be miniaturized into the operationally relevant system.
= AGM-158C LRASM= The JASSM-ER is also the basis for Long
Range Anti-Ship Missile, which is a JASSM-ER with new seeker. The Air Force
used the B-1 Lancer to complete a captive carry test of an LRASM to ensure
the bomber can carry it, as both missiles use the same airframe. The
LRASM was not originally planned be deployed on the B-1, being intended
solely as a technology demonstrator, but in February 2014 the Pentagon authorized
the LRASM to be integrated onto air platforms, including the Air Force B-1,
as an operational weapon to address the needs of the Navy and Air Force to have
a modern anti-ship missile. In August 2015, the Navy officially designated the
air-launched LRASM as the AGM-158C. Operators
= Current operators= Australia
Royal Australian Air Force Finland
Finnish Air Force Poland
Polish Air Force United States
United States Air Force Variants
= AGM-158A= Length: 4.27 m
Wingspan: 2.4 m Weight: 975 kg
Speed: Subsonic Range: 370 km
Propulsion: Teledyne CAE J402-CA-100 turbojet; thrust 3.0 kN
Fuel:JP10 fuel Warhead: 450 kg WDU-42/B penetrator
Production unit cost: $850,000 Total program cost: $3,000,000,000
Production dates: 1998–present = AGM-158B=
Speed: Subsonic Range: 1000 km
Production unit cost: $1,327,000 Propulsion: Williams International
F107-WR-105 turbofan Production dates: 2010–present
See also AGM-158C LRASM
AGM-159 JASSM AGM-137 TSSAM
Storm Shadow/SCALP EG KEPD 350
Ra'ad Missile SOM
List of missiles References
External links Lockheed Martin JASSM Website
Lockheed Martin AGM-158 JASSM - Designation Systems
GlobalSecurity.org AGM-158 JASSM Images & Info