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BAE Systems received a $60 million contract from Lockheed Martin to manufacture and deliver additional advanced missile seekers for the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).
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The seeker comprises long-range sensors and targeting technology that help the stealthy missile find and engage protected maritime targets in challenging electromagnetic environments.
LRASM combines extended range with increased survivability and lethality to deliver long-range precision strike capabilities.
LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network links, and GPS navigation in contested environments.
Bruce Konigsberg, radio frequency sensors product area director at BAE Systems, said, “Our warfighters need resilient, long-range precision strike capabilities to compete with modern adversaries.”
This LRASM seeker contract continues the transition of the program from accelerated acquisition to low rate production.
BAE Systems has delivered more than 50 systems to date that have demonstrated excellent technical performance over multiple test events. The company also is working to make the seeker system smaller, more capable, and more efficient to produce.
“We’re proud to partner with Lockheed Martin in delivering this distinct competitive advantage to US warfighters,” Konigsberg added.
BAE Systems’ LRASM seeker technology builds on the company’s decades of experience designing and producing state-of-the-art electronic warfare technology, and its expertise in small form factor design, signal processing, target detection, and identification.
LRASM is a long range, precision-guided anti-ship missile leveraging off its Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) heritage and is designed to meet the needs of US Navy and Air Force warfighters.
Australia intends to use the missile on its fleet of F-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft, with the US DSCA recently identifying: “The proposed sale of the missiles and support will increase the Australian Navy’s maritime partnership potential and align its capabilities with existing regional baselines. This is Australia’s first purchase of the missiles. Australia will not have any difficulty absorbing these weapons into its armed forces.”
Armed with a penetrator and blast fragmentation warhead, LRASM employs precision routing and guidance, day or night in all weather conditions. The missile employs a multimodal sensor suite, weapon data link and enhanced digital anti-jam global positioning system to detect and destroy specific targets within a group of numerous ships at sea.
LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, network links and GPS navigation in electronic warfare environments.
The LRASM platform will play a significant role in ensuring military access to operate in open ocean/blue waters, owing to its enhanced ability to discriminate and conduct tactical engagements from extended ranges.
Australia’s interest in the LRASM platform will focus on the integration of the platform with the RAAF’s F-18E/F Super Hornets and F-35A Joint Strike Fighter fleets to enhance the stand-off, deterrence and strike capabilities of the platforms.
Sharing about 85 per cent commonality with the JASSM missiles, currently in service with the RAAF, the LRASM technology will reduce dependence on ISR platforms, network links and GPS navigation in aggressive electronic warfare environments.
This advanced guidance operation means the weapon can use gross target cueing data to find and destroy its pre-defined target in denied environments.
The LRASM platform is also configurable and compatible with the Navy’s Mk 41 vertical launch system (VLS) launcher, currently in service on board the Hobart Class guided-missile destroyers, Anzac Class frigates and is expected to form the basis of the Hunter Class guided-missile frigates’ VLS capacity.
LRASM can be employed from guided-missile destroyers and guided-missile frigates with only software modifications to existing launch control systems.
