The Long Range Stand Off Weapon (LRSO), a new air-launched cruise missile to replace the AGM-86, has entered the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase with the award of $2 billion to Raytheon Missiles and Defense.
Airman 1st Class Eric G. Jarman, a crew chief assigned to the 5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, taxis a B-52H Stratofortress, Aug. 12, 2020, at Minot Air Force Base, ND. The purpose of the five to ten year comprehensive test is to demonstrate the capability of the B-52H aircraft to provide the required voltage levels for the mission configuration at the AGM-86B-to-W80 interface. The test data will be analyzed to compare against previous data in order to monitor changes in the baseline, thus indicating a design issue created by aging, aircraft modification, or a combination thereof. The required sample size for this test will meet a historical Sandia National Laboratories requirement of two B-52 aircrafts.(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jesse Jenny)
The missile will have a nuclear-armed capability and Raytheon will have to complete the development work by February 2027.
