The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile extended-range variant has completed the Air Force’s initial operational test and evaluation flight testing, announced manufacturer Lockheed Martin on Monday. During these tests, the stealthy cruise missile performed successfully in 20 of 21 flights, according to the company’s May 13 release. “These flight tests demonstrate the operational effectiveness, suitability, and overall mission capability of the JASSM-ER system,” said Dave Melvin, Lockheed Martin’s long-range strike systems program manager. Launched from the B-1B bomber, testers put the missile through the paces “against a wide variety of operationally representative targets” and “in all of the operational flight modes at the full range of release conditions,” states the release. A full-rate production decision for JASSM-ER is expected later this year, said Melvin. (See also JASSM-ER Operational Testing Nears Completion.)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.