The Pentagon has taken steps to boost long-range strike capabilities with a US Marine Corps missile contract and a US Air Force air-launched cruise missile test.
On 30 January the US Navy has awarded a contract worth $86.2 million to L3Harris covering the Precision Attack Strike Munition (PASM), according to the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
“PASM will provide the Marine Corps with a cost-effective, longer-range, precision weapon that can deliver diverse effects (kinetic or non—kinetic) from [Bell] AH-1Z aircraft in land and sea-based environments,” says NAVAIR.
The contract award follows tests in recent years that proved the technology under the Long-Range Attack Munition (LRAM) effort.
Secrecy shrouds the project, but the weapon is apparently based on an undisclosed USAF programme. With a reported range of 130nm (241km), the missile could greatly expand the AH-1Z’s strike radius.
The contract was awarded under an Other Transaction Agreement/Authority – or OTA – that allowed for a streamlined development process.
In a separate 30 January announcement, the USAF said it had conducted a live-warhead test of the developmental Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) on 21 January 2025, just 16 months after the launch of the programme.
The focus of the ERAM test was to generate data for the programme.
“ERAM is a next-generation, air-launched cruise missile designed to provide affordable mass to the fight,” says the USAF.
“It delivers a precision-guided, stand-off capability against high-value fixed targets, meeting a critical operational need by providing a long-range, cost-effective strike capability that can be rapidly producible in large numbers to bolster U.S. deterrence.”
