Australia announced that its AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) and AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range (JASSM-ER) have achieved initial operational capability.
The IOC milestone for the two air-launched, long-range, strike munitions for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was confirmed by the Department of Defence on 11 September.
The JASSM-ER is a long-range, land strike cruise missile with a range of more than 900km, while the LRASM is designed to strike well-defended maritime targets beyond 370km.
Both munitions were developed by Lockheed Martin and they derived from the original AGM-158A JASSM, which was previously deployed by the RAAF on its now-retired F/A-18A/B Hornets.
In July 2020, Australia announced the purchase of LRASMs as part of an A$800 million (US$496 million) long-range strike package. Nearly two years later, in April 2022, it announced the acquisition of JASSM-ERs within an A$3.5 billion munitions package.
The path to the IOC milestone included operational testing of weapons, validation of weapons preparation and loading, targeting and successful weapon engagement by RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets.
In February 2025, two LRASMs were successfully test-fired by the Super Hornets at the Point Mugu Sea Range in the USA, followed by two JASSM-ERs at the Woomera Test Range in South Australia in November that year.
At the recent RIMPAC 2026 naval exercise in Hawaii, testing further expanded these capabilities, with a P-8A Poseidon successfully firing an LRASM and hitting its target.
Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, Chief of Air Force, said the RAAF has demonstrated it is ready to conduct long-range, survivable and lethal maritime and land strike from Super Hornet aircraft against well-defended targets.
He said, “By acquiring a suite of long-range maritime and land strike missiles, Air Force will increase the lethality of our air combat aircraft and avoid increasingly sophisticated air defences.”
As outlined in the National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program unveiled in April 2026, long-range strike is a key focus for deterring aggressors from projecting power against Australia and holding targets at risk from afar.
The latter document also confirmed the LRASM is now in operational use on the Super Hornet, and will be integrated with the P-8A Poseidon and F-35A Joint Strike Fighter “in the near future”. It also identified integration of the JASSM-ER with the Super Hornet and F-35A.
In addition to LRASM and JASSM-ER, the RAAF will integrate the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) onto its EA-18G Growlers and F-35As, while the latter will receive Kongsberg’s Joint Strike Missile too.
by Roy Choo
