By Mark Dodd
THE fleet of RAAF Hornet fighters will soon be armed with a potent new weapon following a successful test firing last week at the Woomera test range.
The Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile has a range of more than 200 kilometres and was selected in 2006 by the former Howard government to equip the F/A-18 Hornet fleet pending the retirement of the F-111 fleet.
The JASSM has been listed on the federal government's "projects of concern" watch list, but makers Lockheed Martin are optimistic the successful Woomera test will mean its removal.
"A second successful firing of the JASSM baseline missile off a RAAF F/A-18 Hornet was achieved at the Woomera test range in South Australia last week," a Lockheed Martin spokesman told The Australian.
"This now sets the RAAF up to achieve Initial Operational Capability (IOC) by the end of the year, and full entry into service in 2012."
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