Network-Enabled Standoff Weapon JSOW C-1 Ready for US Navy Fleet

: Posted On Friday, 15 July 2016 14:42

Naval Forces News - USA

Network-Enabled Standoff Weapon JSOW C-1 Ready for US Navy Fleet

Raytheon Company and the U.S. Navy have completed all operational tests for the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1 making this newest variant of the guided glide weapon ready for US Navy fleet release and declaration of Initial Operational Capability.

A Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1 in flight off the coast of California in 2011. A JSOW C-1, similar to the one pictured, completed it last free-flight test as part of integrated test and evaluation in January 2015. (U.S. Navy photo)

JSOW C-1 includes a Link-16 datalink and maritime moving target capability to provide fleet forces with robust, flexible capability against high-value, stationary land targets. This now includes moving maritime targets at launch ranges of up to 70 nautical miles from both fourth-generation fighters and the fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter.

"JSOW C-1 provides the U.S. Navy with the first air-launched, net-enabled weapon with the ability to engage both stationary, land-based and maneuvering, sea-based targets," said Celeste Mohr, Raytheon JSOW program director. "JSOW's datalink enables more precise control of the weapon and greater flexibility in how it is deployed."

Throughout developmental, integrated and operational test phases, the weapon demonstrated a high level of precision and effectiveness against moving maritime targets, a crucial capability addressing current and future surface warfare threats. In recent testing, JSOW C-1 successfully engaged simulated combatant ships in a realistic scenario, demonstrating its potency against maritime moving targets.

Raytheon Company and the U.S. Navy showcased the operational capability of the Joint Standoff Weapon in challenging back-to-back flight tests. Launched from F/A-18F Super Hornets, at approximately 25,000 feet, two JSOW II C air-to-ground weapons flew preplanned routes before destroying simulated cave targets.

US Navy F-18 with JSOW (Picture: Raytheon)

"As our mission focus shifts to the Pacific, we are providing the warfighter with the first of several net-enabled weapons required to maintain U.S. strategic dominance over enemy surface combatants," said U.S. Navy Capt. Jaime Engdahl, PMA-201. "The JSOW C-1 is critical to the support of the Navy's strategic vision of integrated warfare capability."

The addition of the Link 16 datalink to JSOW C-1 allows the launch platform, or alternate controller, to provide real-time target updates to the weapon. In addition to enabling the weapon to hit a moving target, the upgrade allows controllers to reassign it to a different target while in flight.

JSOW C-1 is the U.S. Navy's first air-launched, net-enabled weapon, with internal integration on the F-35 already underway.

Aviation Ordnancemen assigned to G-1 Division inspect Joint Stand Off Weapons (JSOW) aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) before transferring them to waiting aircraft. Picture: US Navy

About JSOW
JSOW is a family of low-cost, air-to-ground weapons that employ an integrated GPS-inertial navigation system with advanced guidance algorithms. JSOW C prosecutes fixed land targets and uses an imaging infrared seeker for increased accuracy in the terminal phase. JSOW C-1 adds the two-way datalink enhancement, enabling additional target sets with moving maritime target capability. The development of JSOW C-1 is also consistent with the Navy's emerging "distributed lethality" strategy, which aims to better arm the fleet with broader offensive capabilities across multiple platforms. Potent effectors could be delivered against sea and land targets from LHD/LHA aircraft and others to more effectively address near-peer threats at sea.