Lockheed Martin has received two production contracts on Dec. 19 totaling $449 million from the U.S. Air Force for continued production of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and the Extended Range (ER) variant. The Lot 11 and Lot 12 contracts include production of 340 baseline missiles and 100 ER missiles.

The contracts also include systems engineering, logistics support, tooling and test equipment. Armed with a dual-mode penetrator and blast-fragmentation warhead, JASSM and JASSM-ER cruise autonomously day or night in all weather conditions. Both missiles share the same powerful capabilities and stealthy characteristics, though JASSM-ER has more than two-and-a-half times the range of the baseline JASSM for greater standoff margin.

These 2,000-pound cruise missiles employ an infrared seeker and Global Positioning System receiver to dial into specific target aimpoints. JASSM and JASSM-ER are critical weapons for the U.S. Air Force. Highly effective against high-value, well-fortified, fixed and relocatable targets, the stealthy JASSM is integrated on the U.S. Air Force's B-1B, B-2, B-52, F-16 and F-15E.

The B-1B also carries JASSM-ER. Internationally, JASSM is integrated on the Royal Australian Air Force's F/A-18A/B. Future integration efforts will focus on the U.S. and international versions of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft and other international platforms.