F-16 Is Getting Massive Anti-Ship Missile Upgrade

The U.S. Navy is set to help integrate the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) onto the F-16 Viper fighter, giving those jets a huge enhancement in anti-ship capability. This comes amid a larger U.S. push to expand the total number of platforms that can launch the stealthy LRASMs with a particular eye on helping to prepare for a potential major conflict in the Pacific.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced its intention “to enter into sole source negotiations and subsequently award a Cost-Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Delivery Order (DO) to Lockheed Martin Corporation-Missiles Fire Control (LMMFC)” in a contracting notice posted online yesterday. “The anticipated DO is for required integration and test support of the AGM-158C-1 missile on the F-16 aircraft platform.”

An AGM-158C LRASM in flight. USAF

The AGM-158C-1 is the main version of the LRASM in production now. A C-3 subvariant with roughly double the maximum range (approximately 600 miles versus 200-300 miles, based on publicly available information) and other improvements is now in development.

LRASM is derived from the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) family. JASSM has already been integrated onto the F-16C/D.

An AGM-158 JASSM-series missile seen being loaded onto an Air Force F-16. USAF

For U.S. Air Force F-16s, LRASM could be a particularly significant boon. The Viper does have an anti-ship cruise missile capability in the form of variants of the AGM-84 Harpoon, but it is unclear if any Air Force F-16 units have those weapons available and/or if they actively train to employ them. The Air Force is also in the process of acquiring examples of the Joint Strike Missile (JSM), a newer cruise missile with anti-ship and land attack capability, but only to arm its F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, at least so far.

A Taiwanese F-16 carrying Harpoons and other missiles during a training exercise. Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images

More importantly, the AGM-158C is also a stealthy design, which the Harpoon is not, and has an array of other advanced features, including highly autonomous route-planning capability supported by an onboard electronic support measures (ESM) suite. As such, LRASM can automatically alter its course in response to the sudden appearance of threats, as well as better find its target via its radio-frequency emissions. In the terminal phase of flight, the missile switches over to a passive imaging infrared sensor that does not pump out radio-frequency emissions for the enemy to detect and is immune to radio-frequency jamming, unlike Harpoon’s active radar seeker. The imaging infrared seeker visually differentiates targets based on information in an onboard database, which allows it to zero in on a ship’s most vulnerable spot, as well.

LRASMs can receive additional threat updates and other targeting data from offboard sources while in flight via a two-way datalink, which also allows the missiles to work cooperatively for more coordinated strikes.

Interestingly, NAVAIR’s notice about integrating LRASM on F-16 also follows an Air Force announcement last month about a test of communications gateway system designed to help speed up the integration of new weapons onto the Viper. The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group’s Detachment 3 used a Navy XATM-84N-1, an inert subvariant of the AGM-48N Harpoon Block II+ missile, to demonstrate the gateway’s capabilities. The Harpoon Block II+ is currently in service with the Navy, but not the Air Force.

A US Air Force F-16D with an XATM-84N-1 under its wing as part of a test of a new communications gateway system. USAF

“The gateway functioned as a translator, enabling the F-16 to recognize the Harpoon and the Harpoon to receive signals from the F-16,” according to an Air Force release. “Leveraging the gateway approach, the 53rd TEG team expedited the integration process, significantly reducing the timeline and demonstrating a faster, more efficient method of adding new weapons capabilities to the aircraft.”

“Our primary objective was to demonstrate that rapid weapons integration on U.S. Air Force platforms can be achieved efficiently by modifying middleware, without necessitating extensive updates to the aircraft itself,” an unnamed project manager said in an accompanying statement. “This test paves the way for future projects across various platforms and weapons systems, offering leaders expanded options for operational and contingency planning.”

Though AGM-158C was not explicitly mentioned in this context, the new communications gateway might help speed up the integration of LRASM onto the F-16.

As noted, there has already been a clear push to expand the number of available AGM-158C launch platforms across the U.S. military. Currently, Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and Air Force B-1 bombers are the only aircraft clear to employ the missile. However, work is underway now to add LRASM to the arsenals of the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol plane and the B and C variants, at least, of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In January, NAVAIR put out another contracting notice about plans to integrate the stealthy anti-ship cruise missiles onto Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II combat jets.

An F-35B seen during the type’s first test flight carrying LRASMs, which just occurred in January. USN

The U.S. military is interested broadly in expanding its air-launched anti-ship capabilities and capacity, particularly as part of efforts to prepare for a potential high-end fight against China in the Pacific. Just last week, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a modification to an existing contract, valued at nearly $122.6 million, to help step up production of both LRASMs and JASSMs.

There are broader concerns about the adequacy of U.S. stockpiles of standoff munitions, as well as the ability to replenish them during a sustained conflict, especially a large-scale one against an opponent like China. The price point of weapons like the LRASM, which has a unit cost of around $3 million, as well as the long lead times required to source the complex components that go into them, has also been driving interest in lower-cost options, including for anti-ship use.

For LRASM, integrating the missile onto the F-16, variants of which are in widespread service globally, and with a still-growing number of total operators, could also open up new export opportunities.

Though when exactly F-16s might start flying operationally with LRASM is unknown, the Viper’s anti-ship capabilities are now set to get a significant boost.

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