The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has issued Lockheed Martin [LMT] a $71-million contract modification to conduct flight tests this year of a long range anti-ship missile, the company said yesterday.
The modification brings to three the number of flight test scheduled to take place this year of the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), which is an autonomous, precision-guided anti-ship standoff missile.
The testing involves firing the missile from a B-1B bomber. The LRASM is being developed for the Navy and Air Force in coordination with DARPA and the Office of Naval Research, the company said.
LRASM is armed with a penetrator and blast-fragmentation warhead and is designed to operate in day and night and in all weather conditions, Lockheed Martin said.
The missile has a multi-modal sensor, weapon data link, and an enhanced digital anti-jam Global Positioning System to detect and destroy specific targets within a group of ships, Lockheed Martin said.
The contract also calls for two possible tests in 2014.