The Air Force and Lockheed Martin conducted the first development flight test of the new extended range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile last week. A B-1B bomber successfully fired the JASSM-ER over White Sands Missile Range, N.M., where the missile flew more than 400 nautical miles to its target. Calling the system “remarkable,” Col. John Griggs, commander of the 308th Armament Systems Group, Eglin AFB, Fla., said the development of an extended range JASSM was a “low-risk, low-cost upgrade.” The ER version can travel more than 500 nautical miles—compared to the basic missile’s 200-nm range—and is accurate to within three meters. Flight tests are slated to run through December 2008.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.