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Naval
Forces News - USA |
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Network-Enabled
Standoff Weapon JSOW C-1 Ready for US Navy Fleet |
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Raytheon
Company and the U.S. Navy have completed all operational tests for the
Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1 making this newest variant of the guided
glide weapon ready for US Navy fleet release and declaration of Initial
Operational Capability. |
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A Joint
Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1 in flight off the coast of California in
2011. A JSOW C-1, similar to the one pictured, completed it last free-flight
test as part of integrated test and evaluation in January 2015. (U.S.
Navy photo) |
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JSOW
C-1 includes a Link-16 datalink and maritime moving target capability
to provide fleet forces with robust, flexible capability against high-value,
stationary land targets. This now includes moving maritime targets at
launch ranges of up to 70 nautical miles from both fourth-generation
fighters and the fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter.
"JSOW C-1 provides the U.S. Navy with the first air-launched, net-enabled
weapon with the ability to engage both stationary, land-based and maneuvering,
sea-based targets," said Celeste Mohr, Raytheon JSOW program director.
"JSOW's datalink enables more precise control of the weapon and
greater flexibility in how it is deployed."
Throughout developmental, integrated and operational test phases, the
weapon demonstrated a high level of precision and effectiveness against
moving maritime targets, a crucial capability addressing current and
future surface warfare threats. In recent testing, JSOW C-1 successfully
engaged simulated combatant ships in a realistic scenario, demonstrating
its potency against maritime moving targets. |
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US Navy
F-18 with JSOW (Picture: Raytheon) |
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"As
our mission focus shifts to the Pacific, we are providing the warfighter
with the first of several net-enabled weapons required to maintain U.S.
strategic dominance over enemy surface combatants," said U.S. Navy
Capt. Jaime Engdahl, PMA-201. "The JSOW C-1 is critical to the
support of the Navy's strategic vision of integrated warfare capability."
The addition of the Link 16 datalink to JSOW C-1 allows the launch platform,
or alternate controller, to provide real-time target updates to the
weapon. In addition to enabling the weapon to hit a moving target, the
upgrade allows controllers to reassign it to a different target while
in flight.
JSOW C-1 is the U.S. Navy's first air-launched, net-enabled weapon,
with internal integration on the F-35 already underway. |
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Aviation
Ordnancemen assigned to G-1 Division inspect Joint Stand Off Weapons
(JSOW) aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) before transferring them
to waiting aircraft. Picture: US Navy |
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About
JSOW
JSOW is a family of low-cost, air-to-ground weapons that employ an integrated
GPS-inertial navigation system with advanced guidance algorithms. JSOW
C prosecutes fixed land targets and uses an imaging infrared seeker
for increased accuracy in the terminal phase. JSOW C-1 adds the two-way
datalink enhancement, enabling additional target sets with moving maritime
target capability. The development of JSOW C-1 is also consistent with
the Navy's emerging "distributed lethality" strategy, which
aims to better arm the fleet with broader offensive capabilities across
multiple platforms. Potent effectors could be delivered against sea
and land targets from LHD/LHA aircraft and others to more effectively
address near-peer threats at sea. |
