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.
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.