F-35C gets precision engagement with JSOW missile

Raytheon and the US Navy have completed final developmental tests to integrate the Joint Standoff Weapon C onto the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s C variant.

FILE PHOTO (September 2010): AGM-154C Joint Standoff Weapon – JSOW – in flight during RAAF Super Hornet tests at Woomera. Photo by Squadron Leader Ben Nunan.

The company says the missile will keep the low-cost, air-to-ground missile on track for full deployment in 2019.

JSOW is a glide weapon that uses a GPS-inertial navigation system with an imaging infrared seeker that can identify and track targets autonomously.

Vice president of Raytheon Air Warfare Systems Mike Jarrett said that with JSOW C in its internal weapons bay, the Navy’s F-35C could now eliminate the toughest ground targets from significant standoff ranges.

“JSOW C, which weighs about 450kg, is effective against land targets at ranges greater than 70 nautical miles, day or night, and in adverse weather conditions,” Mr Jarrett said.

“JSOW’s advanced warhead and smart fuse provide fighter pilots with plenty of flexibility against hard and soft targets — plus, it has many programmable effects.”

Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the F-35, and the F-35 Joint Program Office participated in the latest test, which took place on the Navy’s China Lake ranges in California.

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