AGM-158C LRASM

AGM-158C LRASM
A Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) mass simulator integrated on an F/A-18E Super Hornet
Type	Anti-ship missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	2018–present
Used by	United States Air Force United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force
Production history
Designer	DARPA
Designed	2009–2017
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Unit cost	USD $3.24 million (FY24)[1]
Produced	2017–present
Specifications
Mass	2,760 lb (1,250 kg) est.
Length	14 ft (4.26 m) est.
Width	25 in (635 mm) est.
Height	18 in (450 mm) est.
Wingspan	8 ft 10 in (2.7 m)
Warhead	WDU-42/B HE blast fragmentation penetrator
Warhead weight	1,000 lb (453.6 kg)
Detonation mechanism	FMU-156/B fuze
Engine	Williams F107-WR-105 turbofan
Operational range	500 nmi (926 km) est.
Guidance system	GPS, INS, IIR (EO), with AI guidance in on-board sensors (to detect high-value target)
Steering system	Moving wings, 2 horizontal tailplanes & 1 vertical stabilizer
Accuracy	9 ft 10 in (3 m) CEP
Launch platform	Air launched: – B-1 Lancer – F-15E Strike Eagle (integrating) – F-15EX Eagle II (integrating) – F/A-18E/F Super Hornet – F-35 Lightning II – P-8 Poseidon (integrating) Surface launched: – Mk 41 VLS – HIMARS (exploring)
References	Janes[2][3][4] & AFA[5]

The AGM-158C LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) is a stealth air launch anti-ship cruise missile developed for the United States Air Force and United States Navy by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).^[6] Derived from the AGM-158B JASSM-ER, the LRASM was intended to pioneer more sophisticated autonomous targeting capabilities than the U.S. Navy's current Harpoon anti-ship missile, which has been in service since 1977.

In June 2009, DARPA awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin for the two-phase LRASM demonstration program. In December 2013, DARPA publicized its intent to award a sole-source follow-on contract to Lockheed Martin for continued maturation of the LRASM subsystems and system design, which will be transitioned to the Navy. In March 2014, Raytheon/Kongsberg filed a joint protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) against DARPA's decision. In June 2014, GAO denied the protest, holding an award to any other source would be likely to cause substantial duplication of costs that were not expected to be recovered through competition, and unacceptable delays in meeting the Government's needs.^[7][8]

The Navy was authorized by the Pentagon to put the LRASM into limited production as an operational weapon in February 2014 as an urgent capability stop-gap solution to address range and survivability problems with the Harpoon and to prioritize defeating enemy warships, which has been neglected since the end of the Cold War but taken on importance with the modernization of the People's Liberation Army Navy.

In March 2014, the Navy said it will hold a competition for the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW)/Increment 2 anti-ship missile as a follow-on to LRASM to enter service in 2024.^[9] The OASuW Increment 2 competition will be completely open and start by FY 2017,^[10] and concluded in 2023 with the selection of a hypersonic anti-ship missile.^[11] It is expected the LRASM will compete against the joint Kongsberg/Raytheon offering of the Joint Strike Missile for air-launch needs and an upgraded Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missile for surface-launch needs.^[12] The missile chosen as the winner of the OASuW/Increment 2 anti-ship missile contest is the Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface program, a hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile that will initially be equipped on carrier capable aircraft like the F/A-18 Hornet and F-35C Lightning.^[11] The Navy awarded contracts to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin in March 2023 to develop competing missiles for HALO, with the Navy stating a desire for the missile to have multiple launch platform capabilities (air, surface, and subsurface).^[13] The Navy plans for the Zumwalt-class stealth guided missile destroyer and Block V Virginia-class submarine to field the HALO, giving them hypersonic missile capabilities in the near future.^[13]

In August 2015, the missile was officially designated AGM-158C.^[14]