The US Air Force (USAF) has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to produce telemetry kits for both baseline and extended range versions of joint air-to-surface standoff missiles (JASSM).
Valued at $44.1m, the contract requires the company to produce intelligent test instrumentation kits (iTIK) that will be used on JASSM flight tests for telemetry and flight termination purposes.
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These upgraded iTIKs have been designed to eliminate obsolete parts from the previous generation test kits and provide a new product that can be used on several different missiles, Lockheed stated.
The new kits will be compatible with all production lots of JASSM already in inventory, as well as future lots and variants.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control programme manager Kim Oyler said: “The new iTIK provides a next-generation telemetry kit for both JASSM baseline and extended range missiles, as well as the long-range anti-ship missile.
“The electronic components in this new kit will provide enhanced reliability over the previous generation’s mechanical configuration.”
Weighing 2,000lb, the JASSM-extended range (ER) cruise missile is equipped with a penetrating blast-fragmentation warhead.
The missile uses an infrared seeker and improved digital anti-jam GPS receiver to dial into specific points on high-value, well-fortified, fixed and relocatable targets.
The B-1B Lancer is currently armed with JASSM-ER, while integration of the missile on other aircraft platforms is ongoing.
More than 2,150 JASSM and JASSM-ER missiles have been delivered so far.
