Boeing to Fit P8-A Poseidon With LRASM in $74M Navy Contract
The LRASM will replace the RGL-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile that the Poseidon fleet is currently equipped with.
Boeing was awarded a $74 million contract with the US Navy last week for integration of the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) onto the P-8A Poseidon aircraft.
An announcement by the US Department of Defense confirmed the company has secured the contract to design, develop, and test the software and ancillary hardware for integration of the missile onto the Boeing aircraft. The project is expected to be completed by October 2024.
Most work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, while some will also be completed in Patuxent River, Maryland. Around 5 percent of the work will be done in Grand Rapids, Michigan and 2 percent in St. Louis, Missouri, the contract stated.
In February 2020, the Navy issued a request for information to determine if a contractor other than Boeing could perform aeromechanical and software integration to fit the LRASM onto the P-8A.
The Navy was also looking to equip the aircraft with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), Small Diameter Bombs (SDB-II), and Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD), among others.
LRASM
The LRASM is a weapon developed by Lockheed Martin for US Navy and Air Force fighters. To detect and destroy specific targets with accuracy, it employs a multi-modal sensor suite, weapons data link, and an enhanced digital anti-jam Global Positioning System.
The missile is based on Lockheed’s JASSM-ER or Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range and is sought as a solution to address gaps in the military’s anti-surface warfare capability.
The LRASM will replace the RGL-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile that the Poseidon fleet is currently equipped with.
The DoD also announced the award of an $89.6 million contract to Boeing for engineering, support services, and improvements to software and hardware for the maritime patrol aircraft.
