Price For JASSM (Air To Surface Missile) Keeps On Rising

From ELP Defens(c)e Blog:

Part of the goal of the JASSM as hyped by the sales force was to provide a $400,000 cruise missie in 1995 dollars.

This was yet another example of trying to get the gullible Congress et al to sign off on a weapons program that had no proof that it could meet price performance.

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More News On JASSM

Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Achieves Successful Reliability Flight Tests -- Reuters
Getting It Right -- Strategy Page
U.S. Air Force says Lockheed must fix JASSM issues -- Reuters (May 15, 2009)
Lockheed says US order shows commitment to missile -- Reuters (July 6, 2009)

Lockheed's JASSM Missile Nearing Critical Tests

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) said it has invested tens of millions of dollars to improve the reliability of its troubled JASSM cruise missile ahead of tests that could make or break the future of the $6 billion program.

Christopher Kubasik, who runs the Lockheed sector that includes missile programs, told Reuters the company had "made a significant financial contribution to increase the reliability of this program." He gave no specific sum but said the numbers were in the tens of millions of dollars.

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My Comment: After spending millions of dollars for a program that will mean billions in contracts .... you better make sure that it works.

New U.S. Long Range Air To Surface Missile Given One More Chance

U.S. Air Force Says Lockheed Must Fix JASSM Issues -- Reuters

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program may be discontinued if the next round of testing this summer does not go well, a top Air Force official said on Friday.

"I think that if this next round of missiles does not perform well, that it will not be positive for the program," David Van Buren, acting assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition, told reporters when asked how long the Air Force would maintain funding for the program despite years of technical problems.

He said performance on the program had not met the Air Force's expectations and it was essential that the missile perform better on tests scheduled for late summer.

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My Comment: This will be one hell of an effective weapon once all the kinks are ironed out.