Lockheed Martin and the Air Force recently completed two successful flight tests of the company’s JASSM stealthy cruise missile, announced the company. “These flight tests validate our ongoing efforts to enhance JASSM’s capability, dependability, and affordability,” said Dave Melvin, Lockheed Martin’s senior program manager for long-range strike systems, in the company’s Feb. 14 release. In the first of the tests, a B-52 bomber released a JASSM at the Utah Test and Training Range. In the second test, a B-1B bomber deployed a JASSM while flying over White Sands Missile Range, N.M., according to the release. In both cases, the JASSMs “navigated through preplanned routes before destroying their intended fixed targets,” states the release. These tests concluded Reliability Assessment Program testing of JASSMs built during the Lot 6 production batch. JASSM is already integrated on Air Force B-1s, B-2s, B-52s, F-16s, and F-15Es. The F-35 strike fighter will also carry it. The Air Force last year awarded Lockheed Martin the JASSM Lot 10 production contract. So far, the company has assembled more than 1,200 of the 4,900 JASSMs that the Air Force expects to procure.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
