Post 2 of 2: Execution of USN Plans to Strike Further
Jul 5/19: LRASM Engineering and Testing — The USN
tapped Lockheed Martin with $175 million for engineering, testing, product support and ancillary support to update the current Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) components and systems required to achieve objective requirements in the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment 1 Capability Description Document.
LRASM is a precision-guided, anti-ship standoff missile based on the successful Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER). According to the
company, it is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network links and GPS navigation in electronic warfare environments. Lockheed will perform work in various places within the continental US and is expected to be finished in November 2022.
Jul 3/19: New LRASM Wing Design — Lockheed Martin has started designing an improved AGM-158C LRASM only eight months after the stealthy, air-launched weapon entered operational service. The USAF awarded Lockheed’s Missiles and Fire Control division a $175 million contract on July 3 to pay for “updates” to the AGM-158C. The update package, named LRASM 1.1, includes unspecified changes to the shape of the wing for better range.
Jun 28/19: Firescout IOC — The USN has declared that Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C has reached initial operational capability. The Bell 407-based variant is larger than its 8B predecessor, but it's also more capable. The 8C can last roughly twice as long in the air at 12 hours on station, and carry roughly three times the payload -- 701lbs, to be exact. It also packs new radar with a larger field of view and more modes, including air-to-air targeting.
Endgadget
: USN's next-gen helicopter UAS is ready for service
May 7/19: Early IOC — BAE Systems together with Lockheed Martin have
supplied the USAF with
LRASM for the B-1B bomber aircraft, reaching early IOC ahead of schedule. The service
ordered 50 LRASMs. The Lot 2 production effort is priced at $172 million.
Apr 28/19: Progress on the MQ-25A prototype — Boeing moved its MQ-25A prototype from its manufacturing facility near St. Louis, Mo. to a regional airport where it will conduct its first flight in late 2019. The MQ-25A will integrate with the rest of the carrier air wing, similar to how MH-60R Seahawk crews use with the unmanned MQ-8 Fire Scout UAVs aboard LCS. The MQ-25As will be paired with the Navy’s E-2 Hawkeye community. E-2 pilots and naval flight officers will cross train to operate the MQ-25A from the carrier. The USN is also upgrading four aircraft carriers with the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) to operate the MQ-25As from the carrier. USS George H.W. Bush will be the first to be upgraded with the UMCS. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) is also scheduled to be upgraded with UMCS.
Edit:
Feb 28/19: F-35C IOC — This IOC comes after the USN’s first F-35C squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147,
conducted aircraft carrier qualifications aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in early December, received its
safe-for-flight operations certification on Dec. 12 and spent the intervening weeks working with the Navy’s test community to prove it could operate and maintain the new stealthy jets.
