Australia is one of a small number of nations that have shown interest in the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) being developed for the US Navy and US Air Force, Lockheed Martin has revealed.
The LRASM is a development of the JASSM-ER, the extended range variant of the AGM-158 JASSM stand-off missile in service on the RAAF’s F/A-18A ‘classic’ Hornets. It is being developed by Lockheed Martin under a cooperative program for the US Air Force and Navy that will see the stealthy missile fielded on the B-1B bomber in 2018 and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from 2019.
“We are encouraging the Navy to respond to international interest in this system. Australia is one country that has expressed some interest, the UK has expressed some interest, Canada has expressed some interest,” Frank St John, vice president tactical missiles/combat manoeuvre systems at Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business unit, told Australian media on Tuesday.
“I expect that within some period of time the US Navy will have an export policy on [LRASM] and [we] can start talking seriously about how we integrate it on other platforms.”
Read the full story at ADBR