Lockheed has been awarded two contracts worth $218m for the demonstration phase of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) long-range anti-ship missile (LRASM) programme.
Lockheed Tactical Missiles advanced programmes director Glenn Kuller said the contracts would demonstrate two mature tactical missiles for new-generation anti-surface warfare weapons capability.
The programme includes development and demonstration of two distinct LRASM missile variants; LRASM-A, a stealthy air-launched variation and LRASM-B, a high-speed ship-launched missile.
The first is a $60.3m cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the LRASM-A team to carry two air-launched demonstrations, leveraging the joint air-to-surface stand-off missile – extended range (JASSM-ER) airframe.
The second is a $157.7m cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the LRASM-B team to complete four vertical-launch system (VLS) demonstrations that are applicable to navy surface combatants.
The joint DARPA/US Navy LRASM programme was introduced in 2009 to deliver a new generation of highly capable anti-ship weapons.
