Netherlands signs LOA for JASSM-ER cruise missiles

US Air Force technicians prepare to load a JASSM cruise missile aboard its launch aircraft. The Netherlands is to receive the extended range JASSM-ER variant for its F-35As. (US Air Force)

The Netherlands has signed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) with the United States for the procurement of Lockheed Martin AGM-158B Joint Air-To-Surface Stand-off Missile – Extended Range (JASSM-ER) weapons.

Announced by the missile manufacturer on 29 July, the LOA is for an undisclosed number of cruise missiles for carriage aboard the Royal Netherlands Air Force's (RNLAF's) Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) combat aircraft.

News of the LOA came six months after the US Department of State approved in February the sale of 128 JASSM-ER missiles to the Netherlands for an estimated USD908 million. This was part of a wider package of air-launched missiles that also included 386 Lockheed Martin AGM-114R2 Hellfire II missiles for the RNLAF's Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters and General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The JASSM is a stealthy next-generation stand-off weapon that uses the inertial navigation system/GPS unit developed for the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and Joint Stand-off Weapon (JSOW) guided bombs for its mid-course guidance, with either a high-level or low-level (down to about 1,600 ft) cruise altitude.

The terminal phase sees the JASSM fly a steep dive on to the target using an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker before the WDU-42/B (J-1000) penetration and blast fragmentation warhead detonates. The range of the JASSM is listed as an estimated 370 km, while the JASSM-ER increases this to nearly 1,000 km through the addition of a new turbofan engine and additional fuel.

For more information on the JASSM-ER, please seeAGM-158A JASSM and JASSM-ER (AGM-158B/B-2/D) .