Lockheed Martin on Tuesday announced the delivery of the 2,000th Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) to the Air Force. The missile was a baseline JASSM and originated from the 12th production lot, which began in January 2016 and included 150 baseline JASSMs and 60 JASSM-Extended Range missiles. The delivery comes months after Lockheed was awarded a new $116.8 million contract to produce 100 JASSM-ER missiles by June 2019. JASSMs are integrated on a variety of USAF aircraft, including the B-1B, B-2, B-52, F-16 and F-15E; the B-1B also carries the extended-range variant. Internationally, the JASSM is integrated into the F/A-18A/B and the F-18C/D aircraft.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
