Lockheed Martin unveiled its brand-new AGM-158 eXtreme Range (XR) cruise missile during the Air and Space Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor in the United States (US).
Stemming from the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER) and the AGM-158 Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), the AGM-158 XR offers “significantly increased standoff attack range”.
Unveiling the new missile on September 16, 2024, Lockheed Martin said that the XR amounts to a “low-risk solution at a fraction of the cost of a new start program”.
“By leveraging the mature JASSM and LRASM production line, established supply chain, mission planning and software infrastructure, and by implementing a few structural changes, XR can significantly reduce development and production time,” a spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said.
The XR delivers a 1,000lb warhead stealth missile capability and is compatible with the same platforms that JASSM and LRASM have today, including the US Air Force’s F/A-18 and the soon to be added F-35 fighter jets.
“I would say that the ‘158 XR’ really is a story of innovation and anticipating the needs of the warfighters. It leverages an existing production line, production processes,” Vice President and General Manager for the Air Dominance and Strike Weapons at Lockheed Martin, said during the Air, Space and Cyber Conference, according to War Zone.
He added: “When we think of XR, think of that as extreme range. What it really does is it stretches the existing JASSM and LRASM family, that outer mold line, to give us more fuel, essentially, and that buys us the range that we need and that the warfighters need.”