A new ship-killing missile demonstrated its prowess during a Feb. 4 flight test.
The Long Range Anti-Ship Missile was released from an Air Force B-1B bomber and navigated a series of low-altitude waypoints, while detecting and avoiding an object in its flight pattern.
"We are very pleased with how LRASM performed today, and we are looking forward to continuing integration efforts on the Air Force B-1, followed by our Navy F/A-18, over the next few years," Navy Capt. Jaime Engdahl, the LRASM Deployment Office's Navy program manager, said in a Feb. 9 news release. "We have a clear mission, to deliver game-changing capability to our warfighters in theater as quickly as possible."
An adaptation of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, this ship-killer is a game changer. It flies at subsonic speeds and relies on stealth to defeat jammers and elude intercept missiles. It's intended as a replacement for the Harpoon missile, which can't be redirected in flight. In comparison, the LRASM has a 1,000-pound warhead, twice the size of the Harpoon's, and its 200-mile range leaves the 75-mile Harpoon in the dust.
Developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in collaboration with the Navy and Air Force, the missile can be launched from ships or aircraft and aims to counter growing maritime threats from sophisticated adversaries. in anti-access/area denial. In 2013, a prototype homed in on a moving ship target and tore through its stacked metal containers for a direct hit.
By being fired from a vertical launch system tube, tThe new missile, can be heavier and go farther than a Harpoon, which is fired from a shorter canister. It which can also be fired from a vertical launch system tube, can be shot in "fire and forget" mode or it can be directed to a particular area, where the new missile will find the target on its own. It also can be sent new directions in flight, much like a Tactical Tomahawk cruise missile.
The program, which is funded through 2016, is scheduled to transfer to the Navy in fiscal 2016, according to DARPA records. Production is slated to begin the following year.
But LRASM hasn't scored a kill just yet. The Navy in fiscal 2017 will launch a competition for a long-term Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare capability, and seeks a multiple launch platform capability with initial operational capability in 2024.
The Naval Strike Missile is an early contender. The Navy on Sept. 23 test-fired the missile from the littoral combat ship Coronado. The missile scored a direct hit on a moving target vessel 100 nautical miles away.
The missile is a sea-skimmer that relies on passive homing and terminal maneuvering to avoid air defense systems. It can maneuver to defeat interceptors and autonomously pick parts of the ship to strike. It boasts a range beyond 100 miles. The Harpoon fired from ships can hit targets at an estimated range of 64 nautical miles. Different versions can be launched by ships, aircraft and ground forces. The company is even developing a submarine-launched variant.
The NSM, manufactured by the Norwegian defense contractor Kongsberg, is already in use in Norway and Poland. The manufacturer promotes it and promotes itself as the only "fifth generation long range precision strike missile in existence." Defense contractor Raytheon announced at the 2014 Farnborough International Airshow that it was teaming up with Kongsberg to be the U.S. partner for the missile.
