* Contract underscores support for program
* Work underway to upgrade mechanical fuze
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
Defense News Updates ~ WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) $6 billion radar-evading JASSM cruise missile is "back on track" after acing 18 of 19 tests since September 2009, the Air Force colonel in charge of the program said on Thursday.
The Air Force on Wednesday awarded Lockheed a $245 million contract to build an eighth lot of 160 more baseline and extended range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff missiles (JASSM) for the Air Force and foreign military customers.
"With the award of the Lot 8 contract, the Air Force has further expressed its confidence that the program is back on track to continue delivering its unique combination of stealth, standoff precision, and flexibility off of both fighters and bombers," Air Force Colonel Stephen Demers told Reuters.
The Air Force last year threatened to cancel JASSM, a long-range missile designed to destroy fixed and moving targets, after years of repeated technical problems if the next round of tests did not show markedly better missile reliability.
The missile succeeded in 15 of 16 tests last August, assuaging those concerns.
The weapon was declared combat-ready five years ago and has been deployed despite several testing failures, but it faced increased scrutiny as Pentagon officials targeted weapons programs with cost overruns and technical problems.
Demers declined comment on the fiscal 2011 budget, which is due to be released on Feb. 1, but said the program now had the support of the Air Force and Pentagon leaders, and he did not anticipate any "future programmatic issues."
Alan Jackson, director of JASSM programs for Lockheed, said Wednesday's contract brought the total number of missiles under contract to 1,200, about one-fourth the total number of missiles the Air Force plans to buy in coming years.
The missile reached a 94 percent reliability rate in the most recent tests, and has an overall reliability rate of well over 80 percent over the history of the program. The Air Force aims to reach a reliability rate of 90 percent by 2013.
Demers said the Air Force would continue testing the reliability of the missiles, although the number of tests could be reduced in coming years.
In his annual report to Congress, the Pentagon's chief weapons tester acknowledged that testing had shown improved reliability, but said more flight tests were needed to characterize the performance of the weapons.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, also raised questions about the Air Force's decision to halt work on an electronic fuze for the missile, noting that 4 of 26 missiles launched in fiscal year 2009 had fuze issues.
"The Air Force should renew the pursuit of the Electronic Safe and Arm Fuze, ensuring the availability of a second fuzing option," said the report.
Demers said the service had funded an alternate program to upgrade the missile's existing mechanical fuze to a model with fewer moving parts, an effort he said would help the missile achieve the reliability target "even faster."
Officials familiar with the issue, who were not authorized to speak on the record, said upgrading the current mechanical fuze would save millions of dollars in development costs.
While industry had developed an electronic fuze, it would be difficult to use on JASSM, they said, noting that the missile is designed to penetrate many feet of concrete.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
The Air Force on Wednesday awarded Lockheed a $245 million contract to build an eighth lot of 160 more baseline and extended range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff missiles (JASSM) for the Air Force and foreign military customers.
"With the award of the Lot 8 contract, the Air Force has further expressed its confidence that the program is back on track to continue delivering its unique combination of stealth, standoff precision, and flexibility off of both fighters and bombers," Air Force Colonel Stephen Demers told Reuters.
The Air Force last year threatened to cancel JASSM, a long-range missile designed to destroy fixed and moving targets, after years of repeated technical problems if the next round of tests did not show markedly better missile reliability.
The missile succeeded in 15 of 16 tests last August, assuaging those concerns.
The weapon was declared combat-ready five years ago and has been deployed despite several testing failures, but it faced increased scrutiny as Pentagon officials targeted weapons programs with cost overruns and technical problems.
Demers declined comment on the fiscal 2011 budget, which is due to be released on Feb. 1, but said the program now had the support of the Air Force and Pentagon leaders, and he did not anticipate any "future programmatic issues."
Alan Jackson, director of JASSM programs for Lockheed, said Wednesday's contract brought the total number of missiles under contract to 1,200, about one-fourth the total number of missiles the Air Force plans to buy in coming years.
The missile reached a 94 percent reliability rate in the most recent tests, and has an overall reliability rate of well over 80 percent over the history of the program. The Air Force aims to reach a reliability rate of 90 percent by 2013.
Demers said the Air Force would continue testing the reliability of the missiles, although the number of tests could be reduced in coming years.
In his annual report to Congress, the Pentagon's chief weapons tester acknowledged that testing had shown improved reliability, but said more flight tests were needed to characterize the performance of the weapons.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, also raised questions about the Air Force's decision to halt work on an electronic fuze for the missile, noting that 4 of 26 missiles launched in fiscal year 2009 had fuze issues.
"The Air Force should renew the pursuit of the Electronic Safe and Arm Fuze, ensuring the availability of a second fuzing option," said the report.
Demers said the service had funded an alternate program to upgrade the missile's existing mechanical fuze to a model with fewer moving parts, an effort he said would help the missile achieve the reliability target "even faster."
Officials familiar with the issue, who were not authorized to speak on the record, said upgrading the current mechanical fuze would save millions of dollars in development costs.
While industry had developed an electronic fuze, it would be difficult to use on JASSM, they said, noting that the missile is designed to penetrate many feet of concrete.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
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