{"id":29989,"date":"2017-08-23T21:52:20","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T21:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/23\/lockheed-raytheon-nab-contracts-for-nuclear-cruise-missile\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:28:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:28:56","slug":"lockheed-raytheon-nab-contracts-for-nuclear-cruise-missile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2017\/08\/23\/lockheed-raytheon-nab-contracts-for-nuclear-cruise-missile\/","title":{"rendered":"Lockheed, Raytheon nab contracts for nuclear cruise missile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Air Force on Wednesday awarded contracts to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon for work on a new, nuclear-capable cruise missile known as the Long Range Standoff weapon or LRSO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each company will rake in about $900 million for a 54-month technology maturation and risk reduction phase, the Air Force said in a statement. Because the LRSO program is highly classified \u2014 even more so than the service\u2019s program for new intercontinental ballistic missiles\u00ad \u2014 it declined to release the exact value of its contracts to Lockheed and Raytheon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LRSO will replace the AGM-86B air-launched cruise missile, oftentimes referred to as the ALCM, which became operational in the early 1980s. The Air Force says its current inventory of ALCMs is still safe to use despite the fact that the weapon only has a 10-year lifespan. However, it has become less effective as enemies bolster their own air defenses and is harder to maintain, as suppliers dry up and parts go obsolete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis weapon will modernize the air-based leg of the nuclear triad,\u201d Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said in a statement. \u201cDeterrence works if our adversaries know that we can hold at risk things they value. This weapon will enhance our ability to do so, and we must modernize it cost-effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t