Navy Looks To Arm F-35 With Four New Missiles, Including Hellfire
The Navy is launching an effort to integrate JASSM, LRASM, JAGM, and Hellfire missiles on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
BY
THOMAS NEWDICK, TYLER ROGOWAY
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PUBLISHED NOV 14, 2023 6:58 PM EST
The U.S. Navy is looking to add four air-to-surface missiles onto the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, one of which, the AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missile, was not previously known to be planned to be added to the Joint Strike Fighter’s armory.
Alongside the Hellfire, the other three weapons the Navy says it plans to integrate on the F-35 comprise the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), a stealthy standoff cruise missile; the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), a maritime strike version of the JASSM; and the AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM), a precision-guided munition that was developed to replace the Hellfire and the Maverick air-to-ground missiles, among others.
In an announcement on the U.S. government’s System for Award Management (SAM) website, the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) China Lake says that it intends to procure research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) services from Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of all four missiles. These services “will provide design and development studies, technology demonstrations and engineering services for rapid technology development,” continuing to modify the JASSM, LRASM, JAGM, and Hellfire for use by the F-35, as well as the integration itself.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/navy-looks-to-equip-f-35-with-four-new-missiles-including-hellfire
