PUBLISHED on August 6, 2025, 12:15 PM EST – Key Points and Summary – The Pentagon has announced a major $7.8 billion, multiyear procurement of JASSM, LRASM, and AMRAAM missiles from Lockheed Martin and RTX.
-This new multiyear buying strategy is designed to give the defense industry the confidence to invest in expanding production capacity, a critical need exposed by the war in Ukraine.
-However, despite the large dollar amount, experts are questioning if the number of missiles being purchased is truly enough.
-A former senior intelligence officer warns that the planned number of ship-killing LRASM missiles, for example, might last only a few days in a potential conflict with China over Taiwan.
Is the $7.8 Billion USAF Missile Buy Really Enough?
WARSAW, POLAND – On July 31, the Pentagon announced two major procurements of several types of tactical missiles. These contracts went to defense giants Lockheed Martin (LM) and RTX, and together total some $7.8 billion.
Lockheed Martin (LM) will produce the AGM-158 Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). The two missiles are very similar to one another—the significant differences being the seeker head and other parts of the guidance system.
US Air Force (USAF) personnel familiar with these programs tell National Security Journal that the “genius of the JASSM and LRASM” is that the two missiles have a high level of commonality and can be turned out on a single production line. Well into the assembly process, the production line “divides into two separate ‘build books’ where the target type-specific seeker and other hardware are loaded into the missile air frame.”
This process “gets you two missiles for the price of just ‘one point something’ missile programs. This makes it a great deal for the services,” said one USAF representative.
For its part, RTX will produce the latest version of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). The total number of missiles to be procured is projected to be in the hundreds, if not more.
The Two Big Killing Machines
LM’s contract for JASSM and the “ship-killer” LRASM version account for $4.3 billion, which will pay for five lots of JASSMs and four lots of LRASMs. The missile buys are covering not just the USAF but also the US Navy requirement.
Export customers for those missiles now include Poland, the Netherlands, Japan, and Finland. All four countries are operating previous-generation US fighter aircraft, and all of them will be flying F-35 models with these missiles on board.
Of the total contract value, the US Air Force Association’s (AFA) Air & Space Forces Magazine reports that $1.4 billion of the total award will be “obligated at the time of the award, $1.1 billion of which is coming from Air Force coffers.”
This contract is considered a significant advancement in the procurement of advanced missile systems. It is essentially a test case for a new Pentagon policy that involves concluding multiyear buys of these highly advanced and extremely effective missiles.
Committing to procure these weapons over several years, rather than just year-to-year purchases, has two significant benefits, according to former senior military officials who are now retired and serving as consultants for industry.
The Confidence Needed to Expand Production
Perhaps the most significant advantage of procuring these munitions for several years is that it gives industry the confidence to invest in the necessary production capacity to ramp up production. The mounting stresses on industry due to the constant increase in demand for munitions in the Ukraine war are exposing the inadequacy of the current manufacturing tempo and ability to respond to that demand.
“Industry has been left holding the bag too many times in the past,” said one industry consultant. “The DoD will talk about intending to purchase some large number of some weapon system and industry will respond by building new factory space, hiring more people, expanding supply chains, etc.
“Then at a critical moment the US Government turns around and says ‘oh, forget about that—we were just kidding.’ Industry then gets stuck with a huge bill for all the expansion of their capacity but no orders to cover those expenses.
“Increasing JASSM and LRASM production is essential for American and allied national security, and Lockheed Martin is ready to answer the call,” said Dave Berganini, vice president of hypersonic and strike systems at LM’s Missiles and Fire Control division, to the AFA publication.
“We are leveraging our advanced manufacturing capabilities and investing in our production facilities to quickly and affordably deliver these critical capabilities warfighters need to maintain a strategic edge and protect our nation from emerging threats,” he added.
Is It Enough?
A July 2024 Pentagon report detailed that the five JASSM lots being negotiated are expected to total from 550 to 810 rounds apiece. The four LRASM lots were each estimated to include 120 to 240 rounds.
Air Force documents spell out in the service’s 2025 budget, which will be the first year in the multiyear buys, that they will include 450 JASSMs and 115 LRASMs. The 2026 budget request is supposed to contain 389 JASSMs and 118 LRASMs, utilizing a combination of the base budget and reconciliation funding recently passed by Congress.
The numbers sound impressive, but looking at future conflict scenarios shows that expanding production for these and other weapons still has a long way to go.
“The 115 or 118 LRASMs sound impressive,” said a former senior US military intelligence officer. “But in a significant fight over Taiwan against the PLAN [Chinese Navy], how many days would that number of missiles really last—and what do we do when we run out of them?”
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. Johnson is the Director of Research at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two awards in a row for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.
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