Posted on 05/30/2014 8:29:14 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The RAAFs AGM-158A Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-Off Missile (JASSM) has achieved its Final Operational Capability (FOC), Minister for Defence, Senator David Johnston has announced.
The weapon which is built by Lockheed Martin and is also in use by the USAF was acquired under Project AIR 5418 to give the RAAFs classic Hornet fleet a 300km+ stand-off precision strike capability.
The Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-Off Missile is now fully in service and is an extremely capable, long range missile that meets the future requirements of Air Force, Senator Johnston said in a statement.
Successful JASSM integration forms a key piece of the strike capability and ensures that Air Force can meet future operational demands. Chief of Air Force, AIRMSHL Geoff Brown added, This is a great achievement for Air Force and is a major milestone for our air combat capability. This long-range, highly accurate missile can be released far from enemy targets, keeping RAAF aircrew out of harms way without compromising mission objectives.
The low-observable JASSM is operational on USAF B-1B, B-52H and F-16 aircraft, and has a 500kg warhead capable of destroying hardened or high-value targets. After a troubled integration program which saw AIR 5418 placed on the previous Labor governments Projects of Concern list, the missile achieved an initial operational capability (IOC) in 2011 after a successful operational test and evaluation (OT&E) at Woomera.
An RAAF F/A-18A with JASSM at Woomera during the weapons 2011 OT&E. (Defence)
The JASSM is that thingy mounted on the outboard hard point under the wing, isn’t it? Sorry for my ignorance ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.