TUCSON, Ariz., 8 February 2005. Raytheon Co. has been awarded a $55.7 million full-rate production contract to provide the newest version of the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW-C) to the U.S. Navy.
Raytheon Missile Systems will provide 189 AGM-154C JSOW-C weapons, logistics support, and ancillary hardware under the contract. Work is expected to be completed in February 2007.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition John J. Young Jr. approved full-rate production after the weapon completed a highly successful series of Navy operational tests. The tests included a wide array of targets ranging from radar sites to caves and hardened bunkers and upon completion the JSOW-C was graded as "operationally effective and suitable" for military use.
JSOW-C was developed by a team that includes the U.S. Navy, Raytheon Company, BAE Systems and Thales Missile Electronics.
JSOW-C incorporates a Raytheon-developed uncooled, long-wave infrared seeker with automatic target acquisition algorithms, providing the Navy a launch-and-leave weapon with a long range standoff precision strike capability. JSOW-C is the first U.S. weapon to incorporate the two stage broach blast fragmentation/penetration warhead, developed by the United Kingdom's BAE Systems. Thales provides the fuze. JSOW-C has a unique capability for a glide weapon in its ability to attack a hardened target in a near-horizontal mode.
JSOW-C is integrated on FA-18 aircraft and is compatible with the Joint Strike Fighter, F-15, F-16, B-1, and B-2 and B-52 aircraft. It has been selected by Poland for use on its F-16s. The first production missiles ordered under a previous low-rate initial production contract in July 2003 were delivered to the Navy in September 2004.
JSOW is a joint Navy and Air Force program. It is a family of low-cost, highly survivable, air-to-ground weapons employing an integrated Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation system that guides the weapon to the target. More than 400 JSOW-As have been used in combat operations to date.
The JSOW family uses a common and modular weapon body capable of carrying a variety of payloads and handling multiple missions. Its long demonstrated standoff range of 63 nautical miles allows delivery from well outside the lethal range of most enemy air defenses.
The AGM-154A (also called JSOW-A) variant dispenses BLU-97 combined-effect bomblets for use against soft and area targets. It is produced for use on the Joint Strike Fighter, F/A-18, F-16, F-15E, B-1, B-2 and B-52 aircraft.
The Navy/Raytheon team is developing a Block II configuration of the JSOW weapon system that provides significant cost reductions to all JSOW versions. The first Block II configuration weapons will be delivered in 2007. Additionally, other JSOW improvements are under way to add anti-ship capability, reduce unexploded ordnance, hit moving targets, provide bomb hit indication, provide network capability and further reduce costs.
"I am pleased with the weapon's performance in operational test, and I commend Raytheon on their aggressive cost reduction program and the resulting significant reduction in the weapon's price tag. To encourage further cost reduction measures, I have approved buy-to-budget authority so that future weapon savings may be reinvested in the procurement of additional weapons in order to encourage further cost reductions," Young said.
"We are proud to be providing the Navy with this very affordable weapon," said Ron Shields, Raytheon's JSOW program director. "The JSOW-C unitary/penetrator variant offers the Navy greatly increased capabilities, with long standoff range and precision accuracy against critical targets."
Raytheon Company, with 2004 sales of $20.2 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide. For more information, see www.raytheon.com.
