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Feb 12, 2015

LSRAM Ship-killing missile aces third flight test

The Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM)was released from an Air Force B-1B bomber and navigated a series of low-altitude waypoints, while detecting and avoiding an object in its flight pattern.
Integration efforts are continuing on the USAF B-1, followed by US Navy F/A-18.
LSRAM flies at subsonic speeds and relies on stealth to defeat jammers and elude intercept missiles. It's intended as a replacement for the Harpoon missile, which can't be redirected in flight. In comparison, the LRASM has a 1,000-pound warhead, twice the size of the Harpoon's, and its 200-mile range leaves the 75-mile Harpoon in the dust.
The new missile, which can also be fired from a vertical launch system tube, can be shot in "fire and forget" mode or it can be directed to a particular area, where the new missile will find the target on its own. It also can be sent new directions in flight, much like a Tactical Tomahawk cruise missile.
The program, which is funded through 2016, is scheduled to transfer to the Navy in fiscal 2016.
LRASM hasn't scored a kill just yet.
navytimes

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