AGM-158C LRASM, the Stealth Missile Built to Sink Navies

The AGM-158C LRASM is the US military’s stealth anti-ship missile, officially credited with more than 370 kilometers of range and the intelligence to find a warship on its own after every datalink is jammed. Built on the JASSM-ER airframe, it exists because China’s navy outgrew the aging Harpoon, and it has become the Pacific’s benchmark ship-killer.

AGM-158C LRASM specifications

How LRASM hunts ships without GPS

The problem with shooting a ship 400 kilometers away is that it moves, and the cheap answer, a datalink feeding updates, is exactly what a peer enemy will jam. LRASM’s answer is autonomy. Launched toward a search area, the missile navigates on jam-resistant GPS/INS while it can, then goes quiet, listening with a passive RF sensor for the radars of the target group, classifying emitters against a threat library, and routing itself around escorts it identifies as dangerous. In the terminal phase an imaging infrared seeker picks the designated ship out of the formation and aims for a specific point on the hull.

Because the sensing is passive, the missile radiates little for defenders to detect, and the stealthy JASSM airframe keeps radar returns small. A salvo can coordinate timing so multiple missiles arrive together from different bearings, the classic method of saturating a warship’s defenses, as our guide to the Aegis combat system explains from the defender’s side.

LRASM vs Harpoon and other anti-ship missiles

Against the venerable Tomahawk family, LRASM trades raw reach for stealth and autonomy; against the Harpoon it is simply a generation ahead in both range and survivability. Its closest Western peer in philosophy is Kongsberg’s smaller NSM, which shares the passive-seeker, low-signature approach.

Which platforms launch LRASM

The B-1B bomber, certified in 2018, remains the heavyweight carrier with up to 24 missiles, a single aircraft theoretically able to empty a squadron’s worth of anti-ship firepower in one pass. The Navy’s F/A-18E/F followed in 2019 with two missiles each, P-8A Poseidon integration has been pursued, and F-35 external carriage is in work. A vertical-launch variant for Mk 41 cells has been offered, which would spread the seeker across surface combatants, though the Navy has so far preferred Maritime Strike Tomahawk and SM-6 for that magazine.

LRASM operators and what comes next

The US Navy and Air Force anchor the program, and Australia became the first export customer with a State Department-approved package of up to 200 missiles for its Super Hornets. Japan has weighed the weapon among its standoff options. Production shares the Troy, Alabama line with JASSM under multi-year contracts pushing the combined family above a thousand missiles annually, built by Lockheed Martin. Development focus has shifted to an extended-range C-3 configuration, reported to roughly double reach toward the 1,000 km class, and to seeker updates that keep pace with Chinese electronic warfare.

AGM-158C LRASM frequently asked questions

What is the range of the LRASM missile?

Officially more than 200 nautical miles, about 370 km; independent estimates credit it with 500 km or more, and an extended-range C-3 version is in development.

How is LRASM different from JASSM?

It uses the same stealth airframe but adds a passive RF sensor, maritime target discrimination and autonomous routing to hit moving warships instead of fixed land targets.

Which aircraft carry LRASM?

The B-1B (up to 24) and F/A-18E/F (two each) are operational; P-8A and F-35 integration have been pursued, and a Mk 41 ship-launched variant has been offered.

Who operates LRASM besides the US?

Australia, whose purchase of up to 200 missiles for its Super Hornet fleet was approved in 2020, with deliveries following.

Has LRASM been used in combat?

No combat use has been publicly confirmed; the missile’s record rests on test shots and exercises.