The U.S. Navy, supported by Lockheed Martin, accomplished the primary part of the F-35C LRASM Flight Sciences Check Program after a sequence of integration flight checks from September 2024 to April 2026.
Lockheed Martin has introduced on June 10, 2026, that the U.S. Navy has accomplished the primary part of the F-35C LRASM Flight Sciences Check Program. This system noticed the service and the corporate work collectively on a sequence of integration flight checks with the AGM-158C Lengthy-Vary Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) from September 2024 to April 2026.
The corporate says the take a look at program continues LRASM’s full integration plan on the F-35C. The service launched the primary pictures of the weapon on the F-35C Lightning II in late September 2024, shortly after the beginning of the testing, exhibiting the weapon carried externally because it can’t be carried contained in the weapon bays due to its dimension.
Lockheed Martin described the testing saying that it allowed to validate the plane’s habits with the heavy exterior retailer throughout the flight envelope. These trials are often known as ‘captive carriage’ trials and are supposed to take a look at the weapon’s impression on the airframe in numerous flight envelopes and parameters, and confirm each the techniques’ core structural integrity.
This represents the primary part of reside flight testing earlier than transferring to in-flight drop testing to evaluate the weapon’s habits in the course of the separation after which the complete weapon testing to test the complete engagement profile. No particulars have to this point been disclosed concerning an eventual life hearth marketing campaign.
The corporate additional defined that each LRASM and Joint Air-to-Floor Standoff Missile (JASSM) take a look at belongings are getting used in the course of the testing by the LRASM program. As we beforehand defined right here at The Aviationist, each weapons share the identical baseline airframe, with the variations being primarily inside.
“By integrating LRASM onto the F-35, we’re giving our warfighters a robust functionality that enhances mission flexibility and expands their operational choices,” mentioned Jon Hill, vp and normal supervisor, Lockheed Martin Air Dominance and Strike Weapons. As famous by the corporate within the press launch, the addition of the AGM-158 LRASM to the F-35’s arsenal will give it the identical stand-off strike functionality towards trendy naval threats which presently equips the B-1B Lancer strategic bomber and the F/A-18E/F Tremendous Hornet carrier-based fighter jet.
The AGM-158C LRASM
The AGM-158C LRASM, primarily based on the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Floor Standoff Missile – Prolonged Vary (JASSM-ER), is the brand new low-observable anti-ship cruise missile developed by DARPA (Protection Superior Analysis Tasks Company) for the U.S. Air Drive and U.S. Navy. NAVAIR describes the weapon as an outlined near-term answer for the Offensive Anti-Floor Warfare (OASuW) air-launch functionality hole that can present versatile, long-range, superior, anti-surface functionality towards high-threat maritime targets.
NAVAIR says the weapon reduces dependency on Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, community hyperlinks, and GPS navigation in digital warfare environments. In reality, as soon as launched, LRASM guides to an preliminary level utilizing a GPS steering system and employs onboard sensors to find, establish, and supply terminal steering to the goal. Semi-autonomous steering algorithms will permit it to make use of less-precise goal cueing knowledge to pinpoint particular targets within the contested area.
There are presently three variants which comprise the OASuW Increment 1 program, designated LRASM 1.0, LRASM 1.1, and LRASM C-3. The LRASM 1.0 variant, which was fielded with early operational functionality in 2019, has already been built-in on the B-1B Lancer and F/A-18E/F Tremendous Hornet.
The newer LRASM 1.1 variant was fielded in 2023 and is present process Preliminary Operational Check & Analysis, in response to the Director, Operational Check and Analysis’s report. The weapon can be being built-in on the P-8A Poseidon.
As for the long run LRASM C-3, which provides prolonged vary functionality, this system deliberate a land strike functionality was a part of the LRASM C-3 improve however has since determined to stay centered on floor warfare capabilities. The missile idea of operations and system necessities had been accomplished final yr, specializing in anti-surface warfare employment vary and updating the missile goal risk library in comparison with LRASM 1.1.
The Navy has scheduled LRASM C-3 early operational functionality (EOC) for 4QFY26. In the meantime, the Division of Protection continues to plan for OASuW Increment 2 to be developed by way of full and open competitors, with EOC anticipated in FY29 and preliminary operational functionality anticipated in FY31. The Navy funded LRASM C-3 to bridge the hole till an OASuW Increment 2 program of report is established.
In September 2024, an F-35C take a look at plane from Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland, carried out the first take a look at flights for the mixing of the AGM-158, each within the JASSM and LRASM variants. In January 2025, the identical testing was additionally carried out with the F-35B.
In January 2025, NAVAIR disclosed that the U.S. Air Drive’s F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle IIs are actually set to be armed with the LRASM. This was adopted by the disclosure in March 2025 of the mixing of the weapon additionally on the F-16.
