New Air Force Missile Passes Final Test
Fri Mar 28, 4:20 PM ET
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - A new, low-cost cruise missile flew through a window and destroyed a two-story test house in its final test flight this week, clearing the way for possible use in Iraq (news - web sites), an Air Force official said Friday.
The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, next is scheduled for operational tests before going to combat units in September, but it could get to them much sooner, said Gerry Freisthler, lethal strike program director for the Air Armament Center here.
The missiles are manufactured in Troy, Ala., by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control of Orlando. They already are being produced at a low rate and some will be delivered by the end of April, Freisthler said.
"There are people who are thinking about what they could do with them, when," Freisthler said.
In the test Wednesday, a JASSM launched from a B-52 Stratofortress flew more than 190 miles to its target at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in 25 minutes.
The missile has an improved 1,000-pound warhead with the destructive power of some existing 2,000-pound weapons, Freisthler said. Plans are to buy 2,400 baseline JASSMs at an average cost of under $400,000 each.
The Air Force also wants 1,400 extended range JASSMs, still under development, that can fly more than 500 miles. The Navy is planning for 500 JASSMs but hasn't yet specified which type, Freisthler said.
The missile's radar-avoiding stealth design makes it virtually impossible to shoot down. "No threats out there today nor threats in the near future will be able to see it," Freisthler said.
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