A new precision anti-ship missile (ASM) the U.S. Navy will rely upon to sink warships of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the future underwent its first test recently and succeeded in accomplishing its most important parameter.

The navy's fleet of Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, which is its premier strike aircraft aboard its Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, will be armed with the new Lockheed Martin Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) when this air-launched ASM becomes operational in 2019.

Like Us on Facebook

LRASM is a precision-guided anti-ship weapon with an artificial intelligence (AI) brain designed to track and destroy a specific warship hiding among a fleet or squadron of enemy warships.

LRASM was launched from an F/A-18 Super Hornet for the first time during a recent validation test with the U.S. Navy. Lockheed Martin said this test validated the capability of LRASM to perform this extraordinary function.

LRASM will provide the navy with more effective combat capabilities in maritime battlefields, noting the missile is ideal for tactical operations.

To hunt an individual warship, LRASM uses its onboard artificial intelligence. A multi-mode seeker guided by the AI ensures the correct warship is hit in a specific area to maximize the probability of sinking the target.

The AI enables autonomous targeting by using on-board targeting systems to independently acquire a target without the need for prior precision intelligence, GPS or data-links.

These capabilities allow positive target identification and the precision engagement of moving warships in an enemy fleet heavily defended by surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and electronic countermeasures. The missile is designed with counter-countermeasures to evade active defense systems on enemy ships.

LRASM will be an effective counter to the capabilities of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) that relies on long-range ASMs and SAMs for its offensive and defensive power. Its warhead is a 450 kg blast-fragmentation penetrator.

LRASM, which carries the identifier AGM-158C, can be launched at a target PLAN warship from as far away as 370 kilometers. That places the launching U.S. attack aircraft well out of the range of the Chinese HHQ-9 SAM defending many of the PLAN's modern warships. HHQ-9, the PLAN's most modern SAM, has a slant range of 200 km.