POINT MUGU, Calif., Aug. 23 (UPI) -- An upgraded version of Raytheon Joint Standoff Weapon is undergoing integrated testing by the U.S. Navy.
In its first test, the JSOW C-1 was retargeted while in flight to strike a moving ship target.
"This flight test further demonstrates that JSOW C-1 can receive third-party target updates in-flight, retarget after release and strike a precise point on a moving ship using the weapon's autonomous terminal seeker," said Cmdr. Samuel Hanaki of the U.S. Navy's Precision Strike Weapons Program Office. "The program remains on track for reaching initial operational capability in 2013."
The JSOW is a medium-range glide bomb that is released at a distance outside the range of traditional air defense weaponry. The C-1 version, or Block III, adds a Link-16 weapon data link and the capability to strike moving maritime targets.
Raytheon said in the test at the Point Mugu Sea Test Range two maneuvering ships were used at potential targets. The pilot of a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet targeted the smaller of the ships prior to the weapon's launch. Following launch, control of the JSOW was handed to a second aircraft, which directed it to another ship about 56 miles from the weapon's launch point.
"JSOW C-1 brings U.S. and allied warfighters the unique ability to engage moving ships as far as 60 miles away with an air-launched precision strike weapon," said Celeste Mohr, Raytheon Missile Systems' JSOW program director.
