AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
Modification brings cumulative value of LRASM Lot 4 and Lot 5 production contract to almost $425 million.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is providing spare parts for Lot 4 and Lot 5 production AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) to the USAF and unnamed FMS recipients under a $7.59 million contract modification, the DoD announced on 17 May.
Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed by 20 September 2024.
The modification brings the total cumulative value of the Lot 4 and Lot 5 LRASM contract to $424.77 million.
Lockheed Martin obtained its biggest LRASM contract to date in February 2021, with a $414.25 million deal from the US Air Force Lifecycle Management Center for production of 137 Lot 4 and Lot 5 missiles.
Does Russia Already Have an Air-Launched Hypersonic Missile?
The hypersonics weapons race, fueled by a vigorous, accelerated U.S. effort within just the last few years, is defined by an intense competition between Russia, China and the United States, which some pose the question as to whether the United States has fallen behind.
The U.S. Air Force plans to fire hypersonic weapons from its now operational F-15EX aircraft, a plan which most likely applies to a wide sphere of platforms to possibly include the F-35 and F-22 jets among others. The hypersonics weapons race, fueled by a vigorous, accelerated U.S. effort within just the last few years, is defined by an intense competition between Russia, China and the United States, which some pose the question as to whether the United States has fallen behind. Regardless of the particular maturation of each country’s hypersonic weapons, it is clear that they promise to change existing warfare paradigms with new levels of range, speed an
Meet America s 5 Most Overrated Weapons of War
Our national security conversation would be better served by appreciating the limits, as well as the promise, of these weapons.
Here s What You Need to Know: Most of the weapons described below are useful, within careful limits. Some aren’t.
“Overrated” is a challenging concept. In sports, a player can be “great” and “overrated” at the same time. Future Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, for example, is quite clearly a “great” player, well deserving of the first ballot invitation he will likely receive. However, as virtually all statistically minded aficionados of the game have noted, he is highly overrated (especially on defense) by the baseball press. Similarly, no one doubts that Kobe Bryant is an outstanding basketball player. However, many doubt that he is quite as good as his fans (or the NBA commentariat) seem to believe.
Shortage: The U.S. Military Needs More Precision-Guided Munitions
Yet even if the Pentagon wants more smart bombs, the U.S. defense industry may not be able to provide them.
Here s What You Need to Remember: Finally, while smart munitions are invaluable better to expend a million-dollar missile than risk a $100 million aircraft CRS asks whether there is always value for money. “For instance, in 2017 a U.S. ally used a $3 million Patriot missile to engage a $300 quadcopter drone,” the report notes.
Since the 1980s, smart bombs have become the wonder weapons of modern warfare. One laser- or GPS-guided bomb can hit a target where a dozen dumb bombs from a World War II bomber would have missed.