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Australian Ministry of Defense selects the JASSM cruise missile
Mar 7, 2006 4:09 PM 

The Australian Ministry of Defense has selected the Lockheed Martin JASSM, an air-to-surface missile, to fulfill its AIR 5418 follow-on stand-off weapon requirement. The contract includes production, integration and support of the advanced weapon.

JASSM is an autonomous, precision stand-off missile designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and relocatable targets. The missile has a range of more than 200 nautical miles and exhibits high survivability in hostile environments. JASSM's accuracy and 1000-pound warhead make it highly effective against a wide range of targets.

This missile will equip the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) with the capability to strike land-based and maritime targets. The JASSM will be equipped with a data link to enable position updates on moving targets and missile retargeting after launch. In addition, the F/A-18 integration schedule proposed by Lockheed Martin will assure retirement of Australian F-111 aircraft on schedule.

JASSM will provide the RAAF with a system that dramatically improves the pilot's ability to strike land and maritime targets from long range. This is important because it will ensure that Australian aircraft and aircrews can remain safely out of range of air defense systems, while allowing the plane to successfully engage and destroy a wide range of critical targets, including highly defended point targets. JASSM will also enable the RAAF to work in close coordination with the U.S. Air Force, providing force multiplication for both countries' warfighters.

JASSM deliveries to the RAAF will begin in 2009, with the missile initially slated for integration on Australian F/A-18 aircraft. The missile may be deployed on the F-35 aircraft. Australia is one of the international partners developing the F-35 and is in final evaluation of options to buy up to 100 of the aircraft.

Lockheed Martin plans to integrate the RAAF JASSM production into its existing production line at the Lockheed Martin Pike County operations facility in Troy, Alabama.


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