Air Force ramping-up production of subsonic Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM)

U.S. Air Force airborne weapons experts are ramping-up production of the next-generation AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) for use against high-priority enemy targets like aircraft carriers, troop transport ships, and guided-missile cruisers. Officials of the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., have announced a $172.1 million contract to the Lockheed Martin Corp. Missiles and Fire Control segment in Orlando, Fla., to build 50 LRASMs as part of Lot 2 production. This contract is the second order for LRASM production. Lockheed Martin won an $86.5 million contract in July 2017 to manufacture the first 23 LRASM munitions in Lot 1 production. That contract marked the first production award for the air-launched variant of the anti-ship missile for the U.S. Navy and Air Force. LRASM is a joint project of the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., the Navy, and the Air Force to design an advanced anti-ship missile that can launch from the Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet jet fighter bomber, as well as from the Air Force B-1B Lancer long-range strategic bomber. The missile travels at high subsonic speeds, and likely will give way in the future to expected new generations of hypersonic missiles. Submarine-launched versions are under consideration.