JASSM in trouble again

May 17, 2009 · Posted in Uncategorized 

ELP points to a report that the troubled JASSM tactical cruise missile is again facing the prospect of program cancellation if its performance & reliability (last reported to be under 60%) do not improve in future tests.

This is a future prospect to watch out for. JASSM is supposed to be USAF’s primary door-kicker against a sophisticated IADS (along with high-end VLO assets like the B-2 and F-22, plus whatever CALCM stocks are still around). If the missile proves not to be up to the task, and CALCM cannot be counted upon or runs out, the USAF will have to rely exclusively on manned aircraft for the job – or worse, ask the USN to clear a path for them with TLAM strikes.

Because of this program’s importance, it may be likely that the necessary funding for further development will be allocated, even at the cost of stripping other ongoing projects.

Tags:

Comments

3 Responses to “JASSM in trouble again”

  1. Bundy on May 18th, 2009 8:26 pm

    So what are good alternatives? SLAM-ER has a slightly smaller warhead and significantly less range. Or perhaps a Tomahawk variant?

  2. Dimitris on May 19th, 2009 3:45 am

    Air-launched Tomahawk variants were, in fact, planned in the first place (IIRC an airbase-attack version for the USAF and an anti-ship version for the USN) but were not put in production.

    If the problems are not eventually rectified, this will likely place greater emphasis on high-altitude dash attacks by F-22s with JDAM-ER or SDB.

  3. Dimitris on May 22nd, 2009 3:01 pm

    ELP points to a potential alternative, the ER variant of JSOW: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2009-AGM-158-JASSM-Faces-Cancellation-Again-05441/

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.