Navy, Air Force Build New LRASM Weapon Sensor Targeting Tech

by Kris Osborn

For the emerging Long Range Anti-Ship Missile engineered to track and destroy moving targets from great distances semi-autonomously, developers said.

Beginning as a Lockheed Martin, DARPA and Office of Naval Research effort, the LRASM program is developing a high-tech air and surface launched weapon for the Navy and Air Force.

While many of the particulars of the new sensor for the weapon are not available for security reasons, BAE Systems developers do explain the technology in a general way.

For instance, BAE developers say the precision routing and guidance technology of the sensor ? which doesn’t rely exclusively on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, networking links, or GPS navigation ? enables the missile to operate effectively in contested domains and all weather conditions, day or night.

Along with advances in electronic warfare, cyber-security and communications, LRASM is design to bring semi-autonomous targeting capability to a degree that does not yet exist. As a result, some of its guidance and seeker technology is secret, developers have said.

“Our differentiator is that our technology can sense, identify, and help target moving ships from a great distance. With our LRASM sensor, we’ve transitioned our world-class electronic warfare capabilities from other platforms to a missile system with extremely low size, weight, and power constraints,” BAE LRASM Program Manager, Joseph Mancini, told Scout Warrior.

BAE Systems is a subcontractor to main LRASM developer Lockheed Martin. Production of the sensor comes shortly after Lockheed received the first LRASM production contract award from the Navy and Air Force.