The U.S. Air Force announced today plans to continue the Long-Range Standoff Weapon’s development with Raytheon Company as a sole-source contractor. The LRSO cruise missile is a critical element of the U.S. Air Force’s on-going nuclear recapitalization efforts. The Air Force previously awarded two contracts for the LRSO Technology Maturation and Risk (TMRR) phase, one to Raytheon and one to Lockheed Martin, in August 2017. After an extensive evaluation of contractor programmatic and technical approach during the TMRR’s preliminary design reviews, the Air Force decided to focus on Raytheon’s design.
Communication is underway with the prime contractors and an orderly closeout process has commenced at the affected Lockheed Martin and supplier offices. In addition, interagency stakeholders have been notified. The LRSO program office is now developing plans to pivot to a sole-source environment. It is also exploring opportunities to redirect funding to critical areas and potentially move some activities into the TMRR phase currently scheduled for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase, including flight tests. Resource reallocation efforts are underway, in the prime contractor and sub-tier contractor offices.
Morris reiterated the off-ramping of a contractor in the TMRR phase is consistent with the LRSO acquisition strategy and different than Boeing’s decision last year not to bid on the EMD contract for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, another critical U.S. Air Force nuclear weapon modernization effort. The LRSO program office, located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is part of AFNWC’s Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate. Headquartered at Kirtland AFB, AFNWC is responsible for synchronizing all aspects of nuclear materiel management on behalf of Air Force Materiel Command, in direct support of Air Force Global Strike Command. The center has more than 1,300 personnel assigned to 18 locations worldwide.
The U.S. Air Force announced plans to continue with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a business of Raytheon Technologies on the development of the Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile, a strategic weapon that will replace the service’s legacy Air-Launched Cruise Missile. Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a business of the newly formed Raytheon Technologies, was formed on a foundation of advanced innovation and excellence in engineering.In 2017, the U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon and Lockheed Martin contracts for the Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase of the program. The Raytheon Missiles & Defense LRSO team recently passed its preliminary design review and is on track to complete the TMRR phase of the defense acquisition process by January 2022.
