The mission
sought to evaluate the separation of the missile from the aircraft and
monitor the weapon's flight path to its intended target. Assessment
tracked and documented the missile's in-flight data with an F/A-18 Hornet.
Designed and developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
and the Office of Naval Research, the LRASM is based off the Joint Air
to Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range, or JASSM-ER, and was constructed
as part of an effort to overcome challenges faced by current anti-ship
missiles penetrating sophisticated enemy air defense systems.
Armed with a 1,000-pound penetrator and blast-fragmentation warhead,
LRASM employs a multi-mode sensor, weapon data link and an enhanced
digital anti-jam Global Positioning System to detect and destroy specific
targets within a group of ships. |
According
to 337th TES officials, the anti-ship missile is intended for rapid
transition to the Air Force and Navy. Because the LRASM is based on
the JASSM-ER airframe, it can be transitioned to the B-1, allowing DARPA
to add the new technology and create a usable anti-ship missile.
The test squadron's current LRASM project officer, Capt. Alicia Datzman
commented that they are currently working in parallel with the weapon
that may be operational within a few short years.
One unique technological feature specific to the LRASM that DARPA wishes
to exploit and integrate into the new JASSM-ER variant, is the missile's
ability to receive target or coordinate updates while in-flight.
"Unlike the JASSMs fire and forget mentality, this new technology
gives you the chance to fire and change your mind," said Maj. Shane
Garner, 337th TES. "Because of the standoff feature these weapons
possess, they tend to be airborne for some time, and for us to be able
to change their coordinates in-flight provides us with a large-range
of flexibility."
At this time, the B-1 is the only aircraft currently testing the anti-ship
missile.
Should the LRASM technology be fielded installed in the JASSM-ER missile,
the B-1 presents itself as the most likely platform to carry the weapon,
as it is currently capable of carrying 24 of the long-range missiles
the highest capacity in the Air Force.
"We can not only carry more of this weapon than any other platform,
but our versatile speeds that have proven useful in the past decade
in Afghanistan will also prove useful in the vast maritime environment,"
Datzman said. "With our loitering and refueling capability we can
hang out for a while waiting on a specific target set or sprint to where
we need to deliver these weapons."
The overarching concept behind the B-1's rise in the maritime environment
can be attributed to the Department of Defense's Air-Sea Battle concept,
in which long-range bombers serve as a key tenet.
The new concept should guide the four branches of the armed forces as
they work together to maintain continued U.S. advantage against the
global proliferation of advanced military technologies and anti-access/area
denial capabilities.
The 337th TES is scheduled to complete the remainder of their live-fire
tests by the end of 2013.
by Senior Airman
Charles V. Rivezzo
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
|
