A cooperative program between the U.S. defense industry and several of its military customers called Rapid Dragon is revolutionizing the ability of foreign air forces to deliver long-range munitions from non-combat aircraft. The result will give nations the capacity to conduct deep strike missions without the requirement for a stealthy fighter design or a long-range bomber as the delivery platform.
Rising lethality of air defense systems across the globe and increasing ranges and probability of a kill of the latest active-homing air-to-air missiles have prompted most modern air forces to arm their fighters with stand-off weapons, thereby keeping the aircraft launching the weapon well outside the engagement envelope of most threat systems.
One of the leading designs in the category is the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 JASSM (joint air-to-surface stand-off missile). A low-observable air-launched cruise missile with a 1,000-pound warhead first designed for the U.S. Air Force, it also is in service with the air forces of Australia, Finland, and Poland.
Japan, Germany, and The Netherlands will become JASSM customers in conjunction with their acquisition of the F-35. They and existing foreign customers of the weapon plan to procure the modernized AGM-148 JASSM-ER model.
That version nearly triples the range of JASSM from 230 to 620 miles but retains “backward compatibility” with the original AGM-158 design. Reports by the U.S. Government Accountability Office state the -ER version has 70 percent hardware and 95 percent software commonality with the original AGM-158 model.
JASSM offers “distinct advantages over other ALCMs that are launched from a fighter,” explained an LM representative who spoke with AIN. “Most other stand-off weapons are terrain-following missiles that fly a low, nap-of-the-earth profile from launch point to the target.
“This keeps the missile out of harm’s way from ground-based air defense systems, but that kind of a maneuvering flight profile involves many twists and turns. That consumes energy-maneuverability capacity of the missile and burns up the rocket motor faster and thereby limits the range of the weapon,” he continued. “In comparison, JASSM is a stealthy design that is difficult for any air defense radar to detect. This missile flies way up in the proverbial ‘thin air,’ which maximizes the range of the propulsion system and gives the missile the deep interdiction capability the original requirement called for.”
Platform Limitations
Foreign users of JASSM are limited to employing the missile on a fighter aircraft, which can carry a maximum of two of the JASSM missile. The limitation never posed an issue for the USAF, explained one of the LM executives charged with marketing the weapon, but it has with the foreign operators of the system.
“For the USAF, the first-choice platform for a JASSM strike mission is the B-1B bomber because it can carry so many of them,” he explained. “The U.S. air war plan does not depend on fighter aircraft to launch JASSMs, but this can be a limiting item with foreign customers.”
The solution is called Rapid Dragon—an initiative led by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), specifically the Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office. Officials describe Rapid Dragon as an “experimentation campaign exploring the feasibility and operational advantages of airdropping long-range palletized munitions from existing airlift platforms, such as the C-130 and C-17, without aircraft modifications.”
The first live-fire test of Rapid Dragon took place in December 2021, followed by the first multiple launch module tested off Norway in November 2022 using an MC-130J as the launch platform.
Palletized munitions deploy from a cargo aircraft by airdrop using a specially designed launching rack. This JASSM launching package is designed to be roll-on roll-off for rapid fielding. It requires no modifications to the cargo aircraft because the targeting data are all programmed into the individual missiles using a laptop.
“A target is selected and a strike request is made, routing and retargeting coordinates are confirmed and/or updated,” according to an AFRL presentation. Once the launching package deploys, operators follow standard airdrop procedures. The multiple JASSMs are “stabilized under the parachute [and] weapons are systematically released. The released weapons ignite, pull up, and proceed normally to the target.”
The current Rapid Dragon program offers two palletized packages—a six-JASSM configuration for the C-130 and nine-JASSM configuration for the C-17. The next step involves increasing the set of options for the program with new configurations to allow for adaptation for other platforms.
Deployable, palletized munitions system like Rapid Dragon allows an air force to “saturate the airspace with multiple weapons and effects, complicate adversary targeting solutions, help open access for critical target prosecution, and deplete an adversary’s air defense munitions stockpile,” according to the same AFRL presentation.
Additionally, the Air Force “could utilize palletized munitions to aid in restricting sea-lane or harbor movement, [and] drive a reallocation of resources to address new concept of operations,” making it a “key asset to foreign partners and allies when U.S. aircraft availability may be limited.”