Posted on 05/21/2007 5:30:49 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
UPDATE 1-U.S. says mulls killing troubled Lockheed missile
Thu May 17, 2007 10:35am ET
WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force is considering killing a troubled $5.8 billion-dollar Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile , Research) cruise missile as well as other options "to get this program well," the Air Force's top weapons buyer said Thursday.
"Termination is one of the things on the table" for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, Sue Payton, assistant secretary for acquisition, told a breakfast session.
"We don't want to throw out the baby with the bath water here," she said. "At this point, we do not think that we have a design flaw."
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The missile, known as JASSM, is designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and relocatable targets.
Its GPS en-route guidance system and terminal imaging infrared seeker are supposed to provide pinpoint accuracy in difficult environments.
Payton said the Air Force would know more about recent flight test problems in 30 days after reviewing data.
Lockheed Martin had no immediate comment on Payton's remarks.
But it said anomalies were experienced with four JASSM weapons test flown in early May as part of the Air Force's Weapons System Evaluation Program (WSEP).
"An investigation is under way to identify the most likely cause of those anomalies; until this process is completed, it would be purely speculative to comment on potential factors contributing to the anomalies," the company said in a statement.
In April, the Defense Department told Congress that the program's costs had increased enough to require a full review of whether it should continue.
By law, the Pentagon's review must assess whether other solutions may be available to meet the weapon's mission and, failing this, affirm that the program's management is sound enough to proceed without further problems.
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.
For $5.8 billion, they'd darn well better be going after "high-value" targets.
It is unfortunate that in a lot of cases generals have a hard time killing off worthless systems at the earliest possible point.
What can the JASSM do that current and future Tomahawk variants cannot? And why is it having so many problems when similar systems like the Euro Scalp EG/StormShadow seemed to come through unscathed?
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