JASSM back on track

The stealthy JASSM was selected to give the RAAF a near-strategic stand off precision attack capability in the wake of the F-111C’s retirement in late 2010. JASSM has a stated range of more than 200nm (380km) and can be employed in its initial form against hardened fixed and re-locatable targets using a Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided inertial navigation system (INS) protected by an anti-jam GPS null steering antenna system, and in the terminal phase is guided by an imaging infrared seeker and a general pattern match-autonomous target recognition system.

Future upgrades and enhancements will see JASSM equipped with a datalink to enable target location updates after launch and an Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) capability, while further down the track an extended range version dubbed JASSM-ER which is currently being tested will see the weapon’s range extended to more than 500nm (900km).

The US JASSM program has passed the imposed Nunn-McCurdy review requirements with a re-baselining of the program and introduction of physical and program changes and updates to address the reliability concerns. “The US discovered that some historical retrofits to address missile upgrades and to fix previously identified faults were actually creating new faults themselves, as the missile is not designed to be easily modified post manufacture,” Michelle Kelly, the DMO’s Director General Guided Weapons told Australian Aviation. “We believe that one of the reasons why the Lot 7 reliability tests were so successful is that they have now resolved the program reliability issues and improved the process and procedures for incorporating the required retrofits by putting in all the upgrades on the production line while in production.”

Just what this means for the roughly 1000 USAF missiles already manufactured in Lots 1 to 6 is uncertain, but with RAAF JASSM production commencing in Lot 7, the DMO’s confidence in the system is high, particularly after the recent test series which saw 16 randomly selected Lot 7 production missiles fired from various platforms over White sands Missile range in New Mexico between September 10 and October 4, for 15 direct hits, well above the planned threshold success rate of 13 from 16.

But despite the US program being ostensibly on hold for more than a year while the reliability and cost issues were sorted out, the DMO’s project team weren’t resting. “The reliability issues did not put the Australian JASSM program on hold as we originally planned to acquire Australia’s initial missiles from Lot 7 and around this time,” said Michelle Kelly. “In parallel we have been focussing on important integration work. The ‘classic’ Hornet is a US Navy platform and the JASSM is a USAF weapon, so the integration effort has been complex. A significant amount of success has resulted from a dedicated effort by the US Navy at China Lake over the last 18 months. In addition we have been conducting much of the test planning and certification work necessary to get JASSM through the airworthiness process, and successfully introduced into RAAF service.”

And the RAAF didn’t just stand by while the USAF and Lockheed Martin worked on fixing the JASSM’s issues either. “Our engineers have been active participants in the JASSM reliability improvement program, and when technical issues came up, were instrumental in assisting and participating in the process of helping with the reviews,” Kelly told us. “And it has been ongoing; our relationship with Lockheed Martin and with the US is excellent.”

But because of the program delays and difficulties in integrating the weapon onto the classic Hornet, the project’s forecast Initial Operational Capability (IOC) has now slipped about a year from the originally planned December 2009. “I think it is fair to say that significant risk is involved in all unique integration efforts,” Kelly explained. “There has been a large amount of work required to integrate JASSM into the (Hornet’s latest) 21X software upgrade. We have overcome many initial integration issues and are now quietly confident all activity will be successfully completed within required time frames.”

Program costs are still an issue for the weapon which was originally designed to cost around US$400,000 (A$436,000) per round. US FY09 budget documents show the 175 production rounds to be procured in that year will cost about US$1.14m (A$1.24m) each, but these numbers have dropped from FY08 and are expected to drop below US$1m on future production batches. Costs for the Australian JASSM program have not changed.

In the meantime, the RAAF plans to conduct three live firings in 2010 prior to the missile achieving IOC. “The first firing will take place in the US,” said Michelle Kelly. “The second and third will occur in Australia. We have planned dates for the firings but the dates for these are flexible to match the aircraft software upgrade schedule and the work that’s going on at (the US Navy’s test centre at) China Lake.

“Our planned IOC date is currently mid to late 2010, which means we’ll be looking to conduct a US firing in early to mid 2010, followed by Australian firings a few months after that.” Kelly says JASSM will be introduced into RAAF service one squadron at a time, with the lead squadron conducting the initial operational testing in Australia prior to rolling it out to the other units.

“We are confident that in spite of earlier reliability and integration issues, the JASSM program will be a great success,” she said in closing. “It’s one of the key programs necessary to the successful withdrawal of the F-111, and we are working hard to ensure it is a good news story. The Australian JASSM project has been an excellent example of a program where Australia invested early, not just financially but also in terms of effective relationships with Lockheed Martin, the USAF, Navy and Office of the Secretary of Defense, and it paid off down the track when reliability and integration issues arose. The collaboration model for this program is one I am keen to see replicated in future acquisition programs.”