The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) successfully tested a Raytheon Company (RTN) Joint Standoff Weapon C (JSOW C) against a hardened wall target at the RAAF Woomera Test Range. Launched from an F/A-18F Super Hornet at an operationally representative stand-off range and altitude of 25,000 feet, the JSOW C scored a direct hit.
The RAAF test marked the third successful employment of JSOW C this year against one of the most challenging target sets. Previously, two JSOW C air-to-ground weapons also destroyed simulated cave targets in U.S. Navy flight tests at the China Lake flight test range.
“All of these successful shots demonstrate that JSOW C’s tandem warhead with selectable fuse settings is fully capable of defeating targets fortified by the latest in defensive hardening technology,” said Mike Jarrett, vice president of Air Warfare Systems. “JSOW’s tactical stand-off range and extreme accuracy within five feet of the target enable U.S. and allied warfighters to deliver decisive battlefield effects from outside the threat rings of most surface-to-air missiles, denying sanctuary to our adversaries.”
JSOW C is designed to provide fleet forces with robust and flexible capability against high value land targets, at launch ranges up to 70 nautical miles.
JSOW is a family of combat proven, low-cost air-to-ground weapons that employ an integrated GPS-inertial navigation system, with highly capable guidance algorithms; and is the only U.S. standoff weapon in production to fit internally in the Joint Strike Fighter. More than 5,000 JSOWs have been produced since 1997, with more than 400 employed in combat. JSOW C prosecutes fixed land targets, and uses an imaging infrared seeker for increased accuracy in the terminal phase. A JSOW C-1 variant adds the two-way Strike Common Weapon Datalink enabling additional target sets with moving maritime target capability.
Raytheon Company, with 2013 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.
