The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin two production contracts worth up to $449 million for Lots 11 and 12 of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and its extended range variant. The contract includes production of 340 baseline missiles and 100 JASSM-ERs, as well as systems engineering, logistics support, tooling, and test equipment, states a Jan. 9 company release. “These contracts bring the total number of JASSM cruise missiles on contract to over 2,100, and underscore the US Air Force’s and Lockheed Martin’s commitment to the program,” said Jason Denney, program director of long range strike systems at Lockheed. The contract award follows a $34 million foreign military sales contract to integrate JASSM on to Finland’s F-18C/D aircraft. JASSM is integrated onto USAF B-1B, B-2, B-52, F-16, and F-15Es. The B-1B also carries the JASSM-ER.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
