JASSM Team to Receive Prestigious NATO Award for Warhead Safety
ORLANDO, FL, August 13th, 2001 -- The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) Warhead Team was recently selected to receive a prestigious award from the NATO Insensitive Munitions Information Centre (NIMIC). The award recognizes JASSM's increased safety and reduced vulnerability in combat and peacetime operations, citing "...the most significant advance in Insensitive Munitions (IM) technology in the NIMIC nations over the past two years. The JASSM Warhead Team sharing this honor includes engineers from the JASSM Program Office, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin. The award will be presented at an international symposium in Bordeaux, France, in October.
A fully compliant insensitive munition is designed in accordance with military standards and requires no waivers. The munition will not detonate under any conditions other than to destroy a target. The increased safety allows greater numbers of missiles to be packaged, handled, stored and transported in smaller containers. It also allows for government cost-saving opportunities.
"The advanced technology developed by the JASSM team proves that waivers are no longer required for safe and effective weapon systems," explains Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Vice President, Strike Weapons. "Cost savings for the Air Force and Navy will be significant, but our principal motivation was the safety of our service personnel. The key to our success was a total system approach from day one."
The insensitive munitions status makes JASSM highly desirable in the international marketplace. NATO European F-16 countries have already expressed interest and Australia has selected JASSM as the best value for their AIR 5418 program stand off weapon program.
JASSM is also achieving high praise for its hazard classification rating. According to Terry Little, JASSM Program Director, Joint Program Office, "This latest recognition puts JASSM in line to become the first munition item to achieve a reduced explosive hazard classification of HD 1.2.3J." Reaching a 1.2.3J hazard classification allows for significantly higher storage densities than the previous highest classification, which means that it saves in facility storage, handling and transportation expenditures.
In addition, the Navy's Weapon System Explosive Review Board is expected to announce its recognition of JASSM's superb safety status. Recently, the JASSM warhead team completed a successful review noting two significant items in their recommendations: JASSM can proceed with Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) and that the JASSM is the first 1,000-pound class program to obtain full insensitive munitions certification.
"Getting through the Navy's review board is a major event that speaks highly of the product, design and efforts of the team in presenting the program," said Capt. Bob Wirt, U.S. Navy Program Manager for Conventional Strike Weapons.
JASSM is designed to give Air Force and Navy pilots long-range standoff capability against a wide array of high value, heavily defended targets. Its anti-jam GPS satellite navigation system, state-of-the-art infrared seeker, 1,000-pound penetrator warhead and stealth airframe makes it extremely difficult to defend against.
Pilots will be able to launch JASSM from well outside the range of enemy air defenses. The system will cruise autonomously in weather, day or night, with pinpoint accuracy and still defeat the target. The 2,250-pound 14-foot long missile is designed to launch from the Navy's F/A-18 E/F aircraft in addition to the U.S. Air Force's B-2, B-52, B-1 and F-16.
Located in Orlando, Fla., and Dallas, Texas, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, a world leader in electro-optics, smart munitions, advanced combat, missile, rocket and space systems, is an operating element of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration business unit based in Bethesda, Md.
Nettie Johnson, 407-356-5351
e-mail nettie.r.johnson@lmco.com
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
