US Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile Passes Test Firing From B-1B Bomber

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Lockheed Martin said in a press release that during the test over the Sea Range in the state of California, B-1B aircrew simultaneously launched two LRASMs against multiple maritime targets, meeting the primary test objectives, including target impact.

"This continued success with LRASM provides confidence in its upcoming early operational capability milestone, putting a proven, unmatched munition into the US Navy and US Air Force inventories," the release said on Tuesday.

​LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network links and GPS navigation in contested electronic warfare environments, the release noted. It tracks targets such as enemy ships, shallow submarines, drones, aircraft and land-based targets, according to published reports. 

In July, the US Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin an $86 million contract to produce the first batch of 23 LRASM missiles.

The weapon "dovetails with the US rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and may prove invaluable in any maritime conflict as potential adversaries continue to equip their naval vessels with highly advanced weapons systems," the Congressional Research Service noted in a 2014 research brief.