The US Navy has conducted the launch of the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) aboard an F-35C Lightning II aircraft over the Atlantic Test Ranges, Patuxent River, Maryland.
The test marks the first of a series of JSOW separation tests scheduled to be conducted this year.
During the mission, the test aircraft, designated as CF-05, released the 1,000lb air-to-surface guided glide bomb from an internal weapons bay.
The mission was carried out by the F-35 Lightning II Pax River ITF joint team, assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, aboard Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.
The AGM-154 JSOW is part of a family of low-cost, air-to-surface glide missiles manufactured by Raytheon.
The weapon system enables aircraft to remain outside the threat of typical enemy anti-aircraft and counter air defences, while effectively engaging and destroying targets.
The JSOW can be launched from air force, navy or marine aircraft. The missile has been integrated on F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18, AV-8B Harrier, B-2 Spirit and B-52 bombers, and A-10 aircraft.
It is also operated by armed forces in Australia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Singapore, and Turkey.
The F-35C Lightning II aircraft is the naval variant of the standard F-35 fifth-generation fighter operated by the US Air Force (USAF).
The aircraft combines stealth with supersonic speed and high agility, as well as the most powerful and comprehensive sensor package ever placed in a fighter jet.
Image: The F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force carried out the first weapons separation test of an AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) from an F-35C carrier variant. Photo: courtesy of US Navy.
