Teaming agreement between Lockheed Martin and Thales for LRASM's development.

According to a press release published by Lockheed Martin on April 2021, the US company and Thales Australia have finalized a teaming agreement advancing the delivery of an Australian guided weapons manufacturing capability in support of a sovereign national guided weapons enterprise.
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Artist rendering of Long-range anti-surface cruise missile (Picture source: Lockheed Martin)

The agreement will see experienced strategic industry partners in Lockheed Martin and Thales Australia cooperate in the design, development and production of Lockheed Martin’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile – Surface Launch (LRASM SL) variant, with a specific focus on booster and rocket motor technologies.

This teaming agreement advances the proven and mature LRASM maritime strike capability across further platforms for the next generation of surface and ground launch domains.

Lockheed Martin and Thales Australia have complementary backgrounds and expertise in the manufacture and delivery of weapons capabilities that together will provide further impetus for the Australian Government’s objective of expanding the sovereign defence industrial and manufacturing capability. It will bring Australia a step closer to a sovereign guided weapons capability.

The Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) RF Sensor is a precision-guided anti-ship missile designed to give the U.S. Navy the ability to strike high-value targets from long range while avoiding counter-fire. The LRASM sensor uses semi-autonomous guidance and target cueing data to precisely locate and attack targets, reducing reliance on Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, networking links, and GPS navigation.