Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Arthur
Money announced today that Lockheed-Martin Integrated Systems,
Orlando, Fla.; and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, St. Louis, Mo.,
have been selected to compete in the Program Definition and Risk
Reduction (PDRR) phase of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff
Missile (JASSM) program.
Lockheed-Martin Integrated Systems and McDonnell Douglas
Aerospace were awarded cost plus fixed fee contracts totaling
$237.4 million, and will compete in head to head competition over
the next 24 months. At the end of this phase, the Department of
Defense will select a single winning contractor to complete
development and production of at least 2,400 JASSMs at a total
program cost of approximately $3 billion.
JASSM is a joint Air Force and Navy program to provide an
autonomous, long range conventional air-to-ground precision
missile. The Air Force is lead service for the program, which is
managed by an Air Force and Navy joint program office located at
Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
The Air Force and Navy developed an aggressive acquisition
approach that reflects the intent to develop, produce, and
initially deploy JASSMs within the next five years. To minimize
overall program risk, JASSM leverages off existing technologies,
readily available components, and previous weapon system
developments to the maximum extent possible.
JASSM's acquisition approach is based on precepts of
Acquisition Reform and the concept of Cost as an Independent
Variable. Instead of mandating requirements supported by
countless military specifications, the JASSM program has only
three key performance parameters: range, missile mission
effectiveness and carrier operability. All other requirements
are tradable to obtain a missile below the threshold average unit
price of $700,000 per missile. The JASSM requirements and cost
goals evolved over the past year in an unprecedented partnership
with industry, the joint warfighters, and the Department of
Defense Acquisition Community.
The JASSM program director is Mr. Terry R. Little at Eglin
AFB, Fla. Additional information on the JASSM can be obtained
from the Office of Public Affairs at Eglin AFB, Fla., (904) 882-
3931.
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