Lockheed Martin Corporation’s (LMT) long-in-the-making JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) stealth cruise missile may meet a pre-mature detonation.
Although the weapon was declared combat-ready in 2003, LMT on Monday was awarded a measly $23 million contract for production of only 12 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) test missiles. Of these, 6 will be used to complete a development test flight program while the rest will go for operational tests.
LMT has reason to worry, since the $6 billion radar-evading missile under development since 1996 is a plausible target for the Pentagon trying to realign its weapons programs portfolio under budgetary complications. The long-range, conventional, precision missile designed to destroy fixed and moving targets is still far from the Air Force’s 90% reliability requirement.
Finally, the US Air Force’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget set aside only $82.2 million for missile reliability issues while excluding any funding for new missiles. The fate of JASSM will be sealed only after critical tests in late summer.
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