Advertisement

Stealthy' U.S. cruise missile passes test

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M., March 4 (UPI) -- A new generation cruise missile designed to better evade detection by the enemy passed its first verification flight test this week.

Lockheed Martin said Friday its Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) was launched the previous day from an F-16 jet over White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico. The 2,000-pound rocket hit the target, although there were no more-specific details released.

Advertisement

The JASSM will undergo an extensive testing regime this year at the desert range, including a look at the missile's extended range configuration.

The JASSM is intended to become a standard weapon for just about every warplane in the U.S. arsenal and is already in a low-rate production mode.

The missile has a radar-evading stealth airframe. It is also equipped with an infra-red system that allows it to fly autonomously at night and in bad weather, as well as the global positioning system guidance system used in most current cruise missiles.

Latest Headlines