The Air Force this week awarded Lockheed Martin a $116.8 million contract option for 100 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range, bringing the total number of missiles for the military to more than 2,700. The option, expected to be completed by June 2019, is Lot 14 in production for the missiles, with full-rate production approved in 2014, according to a Lockheed release. The JASSM-ER missile is integrated on several Air Force aircraft, along with international aircraft such as the F/A-18, and last year Lockheed was awarded a contract to produce the missile for Finnish and Polish aircraft.
More than 100 B-21s will be needed if the nation is to avoid creating a high demand/low capacity capability, panelists said on a Hudson Institute webinar. The B-21's flexibility, stealth, range and payload will be in high demand for a wide range of missions, both traditional and new.