The newest version of US air-launched stealth cruise missiles will be able to travel twice as far as its predecessors, providing an even greater strategic advantage in reaching and engaging targets deep within enemy territory.

The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, is a low detection, air-launched cruise missile designed for the US Air Force and international partners to strike a wide range of targets.

The JASSM has proven its long-range, precision engagement capabilities over 20 years. The newest generation of the missile, entering production this year, is expected to travel even farther.

The original version of the JASSM has a range of 370km. It was followed by an extended range version -- the JASSM-ER -- which has a range more than twice as far, or 920km.

The range will more than double again with the next generation "extreme range" version of the missile.

The JASSM-XR has a new wing design and is able to reach targets at ranges of 1,900km -- further increasing the missile's effectiveness in striking high-value, hardened targets.

The US Air Force and Navy established the JASSM program in 1996 to develop a long-range cruise missile that could be used against heavily defended targets without putting air crews at risk. Initial production of the JASSM began in 2001.

The improved JASSM-ER was developed and tested, and the first lot reached the US Air Force in 2014.

Equipped with a 450kg penetrating warhead, the JASSM is designed to be highly survivable, with stealth features that reduce its radar cross-section and make it difficult to detect and track.

The United States has purchased more than 2,000 JASSMs. Australia, Finland, the Netherlands and Poland have also deployed or are on contract to deploy the weapon, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Defense Project.

It is versatile enough to be deployed from a host of airplanes. The JASSM can be fitted to the B-1B Lancer, B-2 Spirit and B-52H Stratofortress bombers, along with the F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 and F/A-18 fighters. The B-1B and F-15E can integrate with the JASSM-ER.

Meanwhile, the Rapid Dragon missile system enables cargo aircraft such as the C-130 and C-17 to launch the JASSM via a palletized and disposable weapon module.

This adaptability allows for strategic deployment from various locations, such as the eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea or Arabian Sea.

The JASSM's midcourse guidance system employs a Global Positioning System (GPS) and inertial navigation system. A new anti-jamming GPS steering antenna system protects it.

As the weapon moves towards its target, an infrared seeker, thermal imaging system and target recognition system allow it to aim, track and strike. Its circular error probability is within three meters.

The JASSM can be used to strike a wide range of targets, including command-and-control centers, air defense systems, communication facilities and high-value infrastructure targets such as power plants and bridges.

Increased range, new capabilities

The "extreme range" JASSM-XR will further extend the missile's capabilities.

A $51.08 million contract in 2018 awarded by the Air Force's Life Cycle Management Center started the development for the upgraded missiles.

The upgrade is expected to include a new missile control unit computer, new wing designs to increase standoff range through aerodynamic efficiency and a new GPS unit to further advance protection levels.

The JASSM-XR went into low production in 2021 and is expected to achieve full scale production this year.

This increased range will have an immediate impact on the Rapid Dragon program capability -- opening possibilities for the extreme range missile to hit targets from a C-130.

Led by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office, Rapid Dragon has been exploring the feasibility and potential advantages of airdropping long-range missile pallets from cargo planes.

Using the palletized munition system, the Air Force can drop weapons from a cargo aircraft via a specially designed deployment box on a standard airdrop platform, without the need for aircraft modifications.

The US Air Force says it can equip cargo aircraft like the C-17 and C-130 with the capacity to airdrop long-range weapons like the JASSM. The Air Force successfully completed an exercise last July where a C-17 deployed a JASSM.

Air Force officials have said the goal was not for cargo aircraft to assume the role of bombers but to expand the number of aircraft that can perform similar missions.