The Air Force intends to procure an additional 447 extended-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, but is also reducing its JASSM baseline buy by the same amount, according to the Defense Department’s latest selected acquisition report presented to Congress last week. The move increases the cost of the JASSM-ER program by $653.6 million, or 17.4 percent, to $4.4 billion and brings the total number of extended-range missiles that the service wants to 2,947 from 2,500, states the May 23 report. The total number of JASSM baseline missiles decreases from 2,400 to 1,953, reducing the cost of the baseline buy by $641.5 million to $2.9 billion, states the report. The Air Force plans to complete its baseline buy in Fiscal 2016, transitioning to all JASSM-ER procurement in Fiscal 2017, states the report.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.