AGM-158C - a new type of missile to combat surface targets. The company Lockheed Martin transferred to the US Navy the first batch of mass-produced LRASM missiles. This was announced by the portal navaltoday.com, the message was published on December 19. That is, the fleet has at its disposal anti-ship missiles of a new type.
Final testing of LRASM missiles was conducted at the end of 2017. Then the B-1 heavy bomber was able to hit two targets at once. And now the US Navy received the first batch of missiles.
The long-range anti-ship missile, as LRASM stands for, was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin on the basis of contracts concluded with the US Department of Defense. Work on the creation of these weapons began in 2009 and in 2013 the first tests were conducted. A little later, a year later, some ships of the US Navy were armed with this ammunition.
But officially they will be put into service, only in 2019.
AGM-158C missiles are designed to replace the anti-ship Harpoon, which has been in service for a long time. They began to enter the fleet in 1977. New ammunition has a form that reduces their radar visibility, the solution of the same problem is also applied to the coating on its body. The control system is equipped with a set of electronics, providing search and detection of targets, their identification. Missiles in the airspace interact with each other, and thus redistribution of targets between them can occur.
Main settings
In accordance with the technical description of the rocket LRASM carries a charge of 450 kg and is able to cover a distance of 930 km. The rocket of this model is equipped with a power plant that provides a covert flight at a low altitude and speed not exceeding the speed of sound.
It is expected that in the coming years, missiles of this class will be adopted by the Air Force and the US Navy. Ammunition passed a series of tests for sharing with the Mk.41 ship launcher, in addition, they can start with heavy bombers B1B, as well as with multi-purpose fighters F / A-18 and F-35 Lightning II.
LRASM appeared as part of the JASSM project, which was launched in the 90s of the last century. As part of the latter, an invisible rocket of the air-to-earth class was designed. She was able to hit targets at a considerable distance. In 2010, the following models were adopted - JASSM-ER (AGM-158B), JASSM (AGM-158A) and JASSM-XR. The range of these models is 980, 360 and 1600 km, respectively. At the same time they are able to overcome the enemy's missile defense well.
