Raytheon has successfully demonstrated its first captive-carry test of the new Block II version of the Joint Standoff Weapon. An F-16 flew the test out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., last week. The new block expands the payload options for the weapon and lowers the unit cost, according to a Raytheon statement. Future variants of the joint Navy-Air Force JSOW will be built in the Block II configuration, which includes an improved anti-jam Global Positioning System receiver. The company expects to have the Block II payload—a unitary 500-pound BLU-111 (Mk 82) warhead—ready for the JSOW-A (AGM-154A), which is used by USAF’s B-1B, B-2, B-52, F-15E, and F-16, and the Navy’s F/A-18.
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 defense budget, submitted to Congress last week, accelerates the downsizing of the U.S. Air Force. It proposes divesting 340 aircraft, while only acquiring 76. These cuts risk the Air Force’s ability prevail. “Peace through strength” has...