The U.S. Navy successfully demonstrated the dual targeting capability of Raytheon Company’s (RTN) Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1. Two recent tests during the program’s integrated test phase prove the weapon can engage challenging stationary targets. Previous testing in the integrated test phase demonstrated JSOW C-1’s capability against moving maritime targets.
The first stationary land target test was designed to assess JSOW’s capability against operationally realistic infrared and radio frequency countermeasures. An F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft launched a JSOW C-1 from approximately 29,000 feet and 17.5 nautical miles from the target. The weapon flew a preplanned route at 0.83 mach airspeed, employed 3-D waypoints, and successfully impacted a cement wall on a simulated bunker.
The second stationary land target test was designed to demonstrate JSOW’s performance at night against an operationally representative bunker target. An F/A-18F Super Hornet launched the JSOW C-1 from approximately 25,000 feet. The JSOW C-1 flew the preplanned route at 0.81 mach airspeed and successfully impacted the buried bunker. Both tests occurred at the U.S. Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, Calif.
“These tests demonstrate that JSOW C-1 provides the U.S. and allied warfighters with a new dual capability to engage both stationary land targets and moving ships at range,” said Celeste Mohr, JSOW program director for Raytheon Missile Systems. “These tests help clear the way for the important operational test phase of the program scheduled to begin early next year.”
The JSOW C-1 is designed to provide fleet forces with the capability and flexibility to engage moving maritime targets, while retaining its robust capability against stationary land targets. The weapon is a modification to the existing JSOW C, which adds a weapon datalink radio and modified seeker software to increase capability for the anti-surface warfare mission.
JSOW is a family of low-cost, air-to-ground weapons that employ an integrated GPS-inertial navigation system and terminal imaging infrared seeker. JSOW C-1 adds the two-way Strike Common Weapon Datalink to the combat-proven weapon, enabling a moving maritime target capability.
- JSOW C-1 is the world’s first network-enabled weapon with a range of more than 100 kilometers.
- The U.S. Navy’s first two JSOW C-1 free-flight tests also resulted in direct hits on their moving ship targets.
- Raytheon is using company funding to develop a powered version of the JSOW that will have the potential to engage targets at more than 250 nautical miles.
Raytheon Company, with 2011 sales of $25 billion and 71,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.
