Air Force Advances New LRSO Nuclear-Armed Cruise Missile

by Kris Osborn

To attack deep within enemy territory and help overcome high-tech challenges posed by emerging adversary air defenses.

A cruise missile armed with nuclear weapons could, among many things, potentially hold targets at risk which might be inaccessible to even stealth bombers, given the growing pace at which modern air defenses are able to detect a wider range of aircraft – to include the possibility of detecting some stealth bombers.

As a result, senior Air Force leaders continue to argue that engineering a new, modern Long-Range Standoff weapons with nuclear capability may be one of a very few assets, weapons or platforms able to penetrate emerging high-tech air defenses. Such an ability is, as a result, deemed crucial to nuclear deterrence and the commensurate need to prevent major-power warfare.

Therefore, in the event of major nuclear attack on the US, a stand-off air-launched nuclear cruise missile may be among the few weapons able to retaliate and, as a result, function as an essential deterrent against a first-strike nuclear attack.

“Deterrence works if our adversaries know that we can hold at risk things they value. This weapon will enhance our ability to do so,” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said in a written service statement.

With this goal in mind, the Air Force recently awarded two $900 million LRSO deals to both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin as a key step toward selecting one vendor for the next phase of the weapon’s development. Due to fast growing emerging threats, the Air Force now envisions an operational LRSO by the end of the 2020s – as opposed to prior thoughts they it may not be ready until the 2030s.

“LRSO will provide the next generation strategic deterrent missile for the air-launched portion of the nuclear triad,” David Helsel, LRSO program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a written statement.