유도탄 미해군의 F-35, AGM-158C LRASM 탑재 사진 공개

[위종민]

F-35C의 주익 파일런에 AGM-158C LRASM을 외장탑재하고 비행 시험을 실시하는 사진이 공개됐네요. 비행 시험은 이틀간 진행됐다고 합니다. 

US Navy F-35 conducts flight test with AGM-158C anti-ship missile: pictures - AeroTime

US Navy F-35 conducts flight test with AGM-158C anti-ship missile: pictures

byClément Charpentreau

September 26, 2024, 06:00 (UTC +3)

U.S. Navy photo

The US Navy is working on integrating the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) with the F-35 Lightning II. 

A test pilot at Naval Air Station Patuxent River conducted a flight test of the F-35C, the carrier-borne variant of the fighter, on September 10, 2024. The Pax River F-35 Integrated Test Force (Pax ITF) team conducted two days of flights to assess key performance factors.  

These flights eval‎uated flutter, loads, and flying qualities with two AGM-158 missiles loaded on external stations, as they do not fit in the F-35’s internal weapons bay. 

US Navy photo

“LRASM is a defined near-term solution for the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) air-launch capability gap that will provide flexible, long-range, advanced, anti-surface capability against high-threat maritime targets,” the US Navy said in a statement. 

The missile integration with the F-35 will enhance the aircraft’s ability to carry out anti-ship missions over extended ranges. Eventually, the weapon should be used by the carrier-based F-35C and the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B, operated by the US Marine Corps.  

The US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets and the US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers are currently certified to use the LRASM.  

In April 2023, the US Naval Air Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin and Raytheon a $116 million contract to develop a successor to the LRSAM under the Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO) program. 

[백선호]

멀리서 LRASM 쏘는 임무는 F/A-18E/F에게나 시키면 딱 맞는 임무같은데

F-35C는 LRASM 쏜 다음에 남아있는 파일런이 RCS를 높이기 때문에 바로 돌아와야 할 것 같습니다.

[위종민]

LRASM을 외장탑재하니 사이드와인더도 밖에 달아 버리네요. F-35까지 LRASM을 달아서 쏴야되는 상황은 개전 초 적국의 함대에 최대한의 물량을 투사해야 할 때 정도로 제한되지 않을까 합니다.