The Air Force has announced its intent to award Lockheed Martin the contract for Lot 9 production of the JASSM cruise missile sometime in late 2010 or early 2011. This lot will include up to 391 missiles in the baseline configuration and/or the extended-range variant, according to the service’s presolicitation notice. Lockheed is currently building Lot 7 missiles. The company is awaiting the production contract for Lot 8 missiles after completing a series of flight tests last year with Lot 7 missiles to assess their reliability. The Air Force had placed the Lot 8 award on hold, pending the results of the tests due to its lingering concerns over the missile’s performance. The service also requested no JASSM production funds in Fiscal 2010. But JASSM performed as advertised in 15 of the 16 flights, clearing the path for the Lot 8 award, Lockheed has said.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
