LOCKHEED MARTIN

Everything We Just Learned About The Supersized AGM-158 XR Stealth Cruise Missile

Lockheed Martin has provided new details about their AGM-158 Extreme Range (XR) variant of the proven Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) family of munitions. JASSM now underpins much of the USAF’s deep strike capabilities and a growing portion of the Navy and Air Force’s air-launched anti-ship capabilities via its sister, the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). We have known the XR version of this weapon has been in development for some time, but this is the first time we have seen it and have gotten official details about its configuration. This unveiling came at the Air Force Association’s biggest gathering of the year — Air, Space & Cyber 2024 — outside of Washington, D.C., an event widely used for just this kind of official disclosures and product promotions.

John Hill, Lockheed Martin’s general manager for air dominance and strike weapons said the following this morning about the AGM-158 XR:

“I would say that the ‘158 XR’ really is a story of innovation and anticipating the needs of the warfighters. It leverages an existing production line, production processes… When we think of XR, think of that as extreme range. What it really does is it stretches the existing JASSM and LRASM family, that outer mold line, to give us more fuel, essentially, and that buys us the range that we need and that the warfighters need.”

“It leverages modularity. So while we’re in doing modifications, we’re going digital. We’re leveraging the existing mission planning structure along with the existing software architecture. And as you know, JASSM or LRASM benefit from inline upgrades and fixes as they come down the production line. So for me, being part of a production line where you can incorporate changes that the warfighters ask for in stride is a pretty powerful thing. So this weapon leverages all of those really great things, and it’s a great option for the Air Force to consider for the future.”

A AGM-158 XR LRASM in flight during a test. (USAF)

The XR clearly sports the familiar trapezoidal cross-section and low-observable shaping of the JASSM and LRASM, but this new variant is substantially larger via a stretched fuselage. The XR is a substantial leap in proportions compared to its predecessors, allowing it carry much more gas, as well as a sizable 1,000-pound-class warhead.

As it sits now, the land attack part of the AGM-158 family, which started service over two decades ago, is made up of the following:

AGM-158A JASSM – baseline variant (no longer in production).

AGM-158B JASSM-ER – baseline extended range variant.

AGM-158B-2 JASSM-ER – “replaces obsolete components and provides a new electronic fuze, a new Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, an upgraded Missile Control Unit (MCU), and enhanced software.” (according to the U.S. Air Force’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal); “Obsolescence upgrade; increased computing capability, C++ missile control software. Foundational system upgrade for follow on 158B-3 and 158D variants.” (from a declassified Pentagon Modernized Selected Acquisition Report).

AGM-158B-3 JASSM-ER – M-code GPS capability (still in development).

AGM-158D JASSM-ER – “Weapon Data Link (WDL) capability to re-target the missile, post-launch, against relocatable or higher priority targets during mission execution.” (again per the Air Force’s proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget; still in development).

by Vivaero