Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range Successful in Latest Flight Test

Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range Successful in Latest Flight Test

ORLANDO, FL, October 22nd, 2008 -- A Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER) successfully completed a recent integration flight test at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The missile achieved safe separation from the B-1B launch aircraft, and successfully navigated through a preplanned route, striking its intended target.

The flight test objectives were to validate new hardware and software in the Extended Range missile, including new wing molds and the JAGR-S in the ER configuration. The JAGR-S is an advanced Global Positioning System receiver that incorporates anti-jamming capability.

"JASSM-ER brings the same powerful capabilities as baseline missile, with more than twice the range of the weapons now in the inventory," said Randy Bigum, vice president of Strike Weapons at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "JASSM-ER has been successful in all four flight tests to date, and we look forward to providing this vital new capability to the Warfighter."

This test, conducted September 24, follows on the heels of a successful flight test of the baseline version of JASSM on September 18.

JASSM is a critical weapon for the U.S. Air Force, with the seventh production lot under contract toward a total objective of 4,900 JASSM and JASSM-ER. The baseline JASSM is also produced for foreign military sale customers. JASSM is integrated on the B-1, B-2, B-52 and F-16 aircraft. Future platforms include the F-15E, F/A-18 and F-35.

The missile is produced at Lockheed Martin's award-winning manufacturing facility in Troy, AL. Lockheed Martin has assembled approximately 800 JASSM missiles in Troy since late 1999 for testing and operational use.

A 2,000-pound class weapon with a penetrator/blast fragmentation warhead, JASSM cruises autonomously in adverse weather, day or night, using a state-of-the-art infrared seeker in addition to the anti-jam GPS to find a specific aimpoint on the target. Its stealthy airframe makes it extremely difficult to defeat.

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