The Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $705 million contract to develop and test a new high-speed missile known as a stand-in attack weapon that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could use to destroy enemy ground targets.
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Northrop announced on Monday that the second phase of the weapon’s work, also known as SiAW, will take place over the next 36 months in Northridge, California, and at the company’s missile integration facility at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in West Virginia.
The work will include the weapon’s development, platform integration, and the completion of a flight test program so that SiAW can be rapidly prototyped and fielded, the company said.
A guided vehicle flight test will conclude the first part of this second phase, and the second part will be completed with three more flight tests and the delivery prototypes of missiles and test assets.
The Air Force wants this weapon to achieve initial operational capability by 2026.
A stand-in weapon has a shorter range than standoff weapons, so an F-35 would likely fire the SiAW near the target after penetrating enemy airspace.