The US Navy plans to develop the AGM-158C-2 air launched cruise missile

According to an article published on the Aviationweek website on August 30, 2021, on August 18, the US Naval Air Systems Command released a preliminary inquiry for the first time, revealing information about the "Long Range Anti Ship Missile" (LRASM) AGM-158C-2 strike capability, and stating that the missile will be the Navy's first air launched land attack cruise missile after the AGM-84K Extended Range Anti Land Attack Missile (SLAM-ER).

The AGM-158C-2 missile is based on the AGM-158C project, which is the sea strike model of the US Air Force's "Extended Range Joint Defense Area Space Ground Missile" AGM-158B (JASSM-ER). It is mainly equipped with US Navy F/A-18E/F carrier based fighters and US Air Force B-1B bombers. Compared to the AGM-158B, the AGM-158C missile is equipped with an RF sensor that can aim at moving targets at sea, and is also coated with a black anti-corrosion coating on the body of the missile. The US Navy stated that the AGM-158C-2 is a naval version of the AGM-158B and does not have a terminal guidance head installed.

At present, there is not much knowledge about the details of AGM-158C-2. The US Navy only mentioned that the missile is the Navy version of AGM-158B, but the US Air Force's AGM-158B was equipped with an improved AGM-158B-2 after entering service in 2015. The AGM-158B-2 is equipped with redesigned wings, significantly expanding its range, and ultimately adding a weapon data link to the AGM-158D. It is currently unclear which AGM-158B the Navy's AGM-158C-2 design is based on. In addition, the US Navy's fiscal year 2022 report requires the software for the AGM-158C-2 missile worth $1.8 million to be written in C++language. At the same time, Lockheed Martin has released a recruitment advertisement, intending to hire engineers proficient in C++language to replace the outdated Ada language used by the AGM-158 series missiles in the United States Department of Defense. Using C++language will make it more convenient for AGM-158 series missiles to undergo extensive upgrades. At present, the US military is testing containerized software updates for missiles and fighter jets during flight. During the experiment, it was found that C++language is more friendly than Ada language and can better meet the needs of the open-source cloud tool Kubernetes.

Cruise missiles have always received strong support from US defense planners, such as the US Air Force's plan to service the Long Range Out of Defense (LRSO) air launched nuclear cruise missile, and the US Navy's plan to equip the Sea based Nuclear Cruise Missile (SLCM). In terms of conventional weapons, the US Air Force is developing the Hypersonic Strike Cruise Missile (HACM), while the Navy is developing the high-speed version of the Offensive Anti Surface Warfare (OASuW) Increment 2 missile. This pre requisition letter indicates that the US Navy is implementing the decision in the 2022 fiscal year budget document to purchase AGM-158 series missiles as a replacement after the cancellation of the turbojet powered AGM-154 Joint Exogenous Weapon (JSOW).

For decades, the US Department of Defense has been very interested in cruise missiles that are reasonably priced, have stealth capabilities, and long-range strike capabilities, but there have been no relevant models in service. In the mid-1990s, the Pentagon cancelled the joint development of the AGM-137 "Tri Service Common Strike Missile" (TSSAM) by the US Air Force, Navy, and Army. After the TSSAM project, the US Air Force and Navy launched the JASSM project in the late 1990s, but the partnership did not last long. In 2004, the Navy decided to withdraw from the JASSM project without a direct replacement project. A few years later, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) demonstrated the feasibility of JASSM anti-ship version in the "Offensive Anti Surface Warfare" project. Therefore, in 2014, the Navy launched the development of stealth and subsonic OASuW Increment 1, and deployed the initial operational capability version of LRASM five years later.

Source: Aerospace Vision