After successful integration, the long-range LRASM-SL missile will make the HIMARS complex like a “tiger with more teeth” with outstanding attack power.
At the land defense force exhibition taking place in Brisbane, Australia, Lockheed Martin has proposed mounting the AGM-184C Long Range Anti Ship Missile Surface Launched (LRASM-SL) on the HIMARS for the Australian Army.
Naval News analysts note that the development of such a weapon system is being carried out by Lockheed Martin on order from the Australian Defense Force (ADF), as part of Project Land 4100 phase 2.
The requirement to fire the LRASM-SL anti-ship cruise missile from the M142 HIMARS launcher is set out to match the logistics system that the Australian armed forces are using.
Furthermore, the Royal Australian Air Force has ordered an “aviation” version of the LRASM to equip its F/A-18F aircraft as part of Project AIR 3023. In addition, the Royal Australian Navy has a plan to purchase LRASM-SL to equip their surface ships.
Lockheed Martin engineers warned directly that the launch module of the LRASM-SL rocket would significantly exceed the size of other ammunition for the M142 HIMARS. And the rocket will literally “jump out” from the launch pad.
LRASM-equipped HIMARS vehicles retain the ability to rapidly insert via air, and Lockheed Martin told Naval News that they have already conducted a fit check aboard a U.S Marine Corp (USMC) KC-130J tanker transport.
Touting the missile’s advantages, senior Manager of Navy Strategy & Surface Programs at Lockheed Martin Dominic DeScisciolo told Naval News that the LRASM-SL can be used interchangeably for the army and naval platforms.
“I think the attractive features of the surface launch and ground-launched missiles are that they’re identical missile stacks. In other words, the missiles [with the Mk114 Boosters] are interchangeable between the Army and Navy.”
In addition, Naval News magazine also reported that Lockheed Martin Corporation has begun work on adapting the LRASM-SL to integrate into the M142 HIMARS launcher to beat Kongsberg and Thales StrikeMaster Project.
This is a unique direction of the US after its ally Germany also announced its intention to integrate the JFS-M cruise missile with a range of 500 km into the M142 HIMARS launcher.
The LRASM long-range anti-ship cruise missile is a modified version of the famous AGM-158 JASSM point-to-point air-to-surface attack missile.
LRASM stands for Long Range Anti Ship Missile. This project was developed to create a weapon to fill the gap of the aging AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.
Advanced anti-ship weapons have been neglected by the US since the end of the Cold War, but the rise of the Russian and Chinese navies makes the Pentagon unable to sit still.
The process of launching AGM-158C missiles is as follows, first warships and ammunition carriers will process information from reconnaissance vehicles, lock targets and fire LRASM missiles.
The LRASM missile is equipped with a versatile probe, advanced data transmission. After leaving the launch pad, it will receive target information from the launch vehicle, then continue to update on the target via connection to the satellite.
