USN kicks off LRASM integration on F/A-18E/F - IHS Jane's 360: The US Navy (USN) has begun initial integration of Lockheed Martin's Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) onto the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrier-borne strike fighter.
Fit checks are currently being conducted at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland, ahead of the start of airworthiness testing.
Being developed and integrated under an accelerated programme to meet the navy's Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) Increment 1 programme, LRASM is a highly autonomous, precision-guided anti-ship standoff weapon that leverages the basic design of the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER), but introduces additional sensors and systems specific to the offensive ASuW mission. It has been conceived to be able to penetrate sophisticated shipborne defences and with reduced dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, network links, and GPS navigation.
Originally initiated in 2008 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Office of Naval Research, the programme has now been transitioned to the LRASM Deployment Office (LDO), a partnership of DARPA, the USN (through the Naval Air Systems Command [NAVAIR]), and the US Air Force (USAF).
The US Department of Defense's fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015) budget confirmed plans to move forward with the sole-source acquisition of LRASM to meet OASuW Increment 1 programme requirements. The LDO plans to deliver an Early Operational Capability (EOC) on USAF's B-1B Lancer bomber from FY 2018; EOC on the USN's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is to follow in FY 2019. LRASM pre-production missiles have already been the subject of three successful flight tests from the B-1B. Activity to support LRASM integration on the F/A-18E/F began at NAS Patuxent River Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 on 12 August.
