Lockheed wins $99M contract for foreign JASSM cruise missile support

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. received a $99 million contract for production support of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff cruise missiles for allied militaries, the Defense Department announced.

The indefinite-delivery contract, announced Tuesday, calls for lifecycle support for JASSM and its variants in system upgrades, integration, production, sustainment, management and logistical support.

The Pentagon said the contract involves foreign military sales to Poland, Finland and Australia, with work conducted in Orlando, Fla., and expected to be completed by August 2024.

JASSM is a 2,000-pound long-range, air-to-ground standoff missile designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and relocatable targets. The standoff implies that aircrews are well out of danger from hostile air defense systems.

The weapon has a penetrator/blast fragmentation warhead, and is in use on the B-1B, B-2, B-52, F-16 and F-15E bombers and fighter planes of the U.S. Air Force. Variants are integrated on the B-1B and the F-15E and are currently completing integration on the B-52H, and F-16C/D.

Future integration is also planned for the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft and other international platforms, Lockheed Martin said.