The United States Air Force (USAF) recently awarded contracts to Lockheed Martin Corporation and Raytheon Company to mature design concepts and prove developmental technologies for the new Long Range Standoff weapon (LRSO).
USAF is on track to replace the AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile with modernized weapon capabilities designed for its nuclear bomber fleet, to include the B-21.
“This weapon will modernize the air-based leg of the nuclear triad,” Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said. “Deterrence works if our adversaries know that we can hold at risk things they value. This weapon will enhance our ability to do so, and we must modernize it cost-effectively.”
Each received a contract of approximately $900 million with an approximate 54-month period of performance. Once the contracts are successfully completed, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center will select a single contractor for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development and Production and Deployment phases of the program.
The companies are tasked with developing the technologies and demonstrating reliability and maintainability of the replacement weapon.
“The LRSO will be a reliable, long-ranging and survivable weapon system and an absolutely essential element of the nuclear triad,” Gen. Robin Rand, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, told the House Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee in May. “The LRSO missile will ensure the bomber force continues to hold high-value targets at risk in an evolving threat environment, including targets deep within an area-denied environment.”
The Air Force plans to start fielding LRSO in the late 2020s.