Military & Defense
B-52: US Navy prepares Lockheed Martin contract to integrate the LRASM anti-ship missile
NAVAIR plans to negotiate directly with Lockheed Martin to integrate the AGM-158C LRASM on the Air Force’s B-52 Stratofortress, according to a government notice dated October 7. The B-1B already carries the missile and the B-2 has been shown to be able to launch it.
The US Navy is preparing to sign a contract with Lockheed Martin to integrate the AGM-158C LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) on the US Air Force’s B-52 Stratofortress bombers. The intention is recorded in a government notice dated October 7.
According to the notice from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the command will begin sole-source negotiations with Lockheed Martin and place a cost-plus-fixed-fee order for integrating the LRASM on the B-52. The work includes missile software updates, testing, repair of test missiles and failure-analysis boards. The notice gives no timeline for completion or for operational integration.
All three bombers with the LRASM
The LRASM has already been integrated on the B-1B, and earlier this year the Air Force revealed that the stealth B-2 can also launch it, a capability that was not previously known. With the B-52, all three of its strategic bombers would be able to use the missile. The B-52 can carry up to 20 JASSM missiles, which have the same dimensions as the LRASM, but the notice does not say how many LRASMs it would carry.
The idea is not new. As early as 2019, $10 million was allocated for a study on integration. The Air Force’s fiscal year 2027 budget provides for integrating the newer versions of the LRASM and JASSM on the B-52, folding the missiles’ flight software into the bomber’s core software and validating safe separation from both the wings and the internal launcher.
What the LRASM is
The LRASM derives from the JASSM family and is designed to hit high-value ships from long range. It combines inertial navigation with GPS aiding, an infrared seeker for the terminal phase without active radar emissions, and an electronic support measures (ESM) system for autonomous route planning. It has a data link for in-flight updates and can work with other LRASMs in coordinated strikes. The exact range has not been announced. The baseline version is reported at 320-480 kilometres, while the future C-3 is expected to reach about 960 kilometres, the range of the JASSM-ER.
The same family also interests Greece, which has asked the United States for pricing and availability data on the JASSM-ER for the Hellenic Air Force’s future F-35s. For the United States, adding the LRASM to the B-52 gives a dedicated anti-ship missile to a platform that can launch many missiles from long range, with the growing Chinese fleet in the Indo-Pacific as the main target.
