War debut: US stealth missile

2003-03-20 12:54

Washington - The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) is a new guided missile that can hit a target more than 320 kilometres away, but has not yet been used in a war.

The beauty of the missile is that its range allows fighter jets and bombers to launch it from a safe distance.

Said to be stealthier than a cruise missile, the JASSM is made for strikes on concrete bunkers and other heavily defended fixed targets.

It is 4.25 metres long, weighs 1 000 kilograms and has a 450 kilogram penetrator warhead.

It uses a Global Positioning Satellite system to reach its target and an infrared seeker for guidance.

B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers all can carry the missile, as can F-16 and F/A-18 fighters.

Built by Lockheed Martin, the missile went into low rate production this year and has not yet been tested in combat. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA