US Military MOST FEARED Missile System
The US Military AGM-158 JASSM Missile for
US Air Force aircraft is a great idea to improve
US Military power. The AGM-158 JASSM (
Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) 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 (910 kg) 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 (
Joint Air-to-Surface
Standoff Missile-Extended
Range), entered service in 2014.
Program overview[edit]
Origins[edit]
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-1595A 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 (
1000 lb) 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.[2]
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (
CSBA) 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.[3]
Variants[edit]
AGM-158A (JASSM)[edit]
Length: 4.27 m (14 ft)
Wingspan:
2.4 m (7 ft 11 in)
Weight: 975 kg (2,
150 lb)
Speed:
Subsonic
Range: 370 km (230 mi)
Propulsion:
Teledyne CAE J402-CA-100 turbojet; thrust
3.0 kN (680 lbf)
Fuel:JP10 fuel
Warhead: 450 kg (1000 lb) WDU-42/B penetrator
Production unit cost: $850,000
Total program cost: $3,000,000,000
Production dates: 1998–present
AGM-158B (JASSM-ER)[edit]
Speed: Subsonic
Range:
1000 km (620 mi)
Production unit cost: $1,327,000
Propulsion:
Williams International F107-WR-105 turbofan
Production dates:
2010–present
JASSM-Extended Range (JASSM-ER)[edit]
The US Air Force studied various improvements to the
AGM-158, resulting in the development of the JASSM-Extended Range (JASSM-ER), 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 (925 km) as compared to the JASSM's range of about 230 miles (370 km). 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 (1,000 km). The JASSM-ER has 70% hardware commonality and 95% software commonality with the original AGM-158 JASSM.[1]
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.[23] 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.[24]
The JASSM-ER is also the basis for
Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, which is a JASSM-ER with new seeker.[25]
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, it being intended solely as a technology demonstrator,[26] 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.[27]
The JASSM-ER entered service with the
USAF in
April 2014. Although the B-1