Lockheed Martin is to continue production of extended range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles for the U.S. Air Force, the company announced.

The award for more JASSM-ER missiles is worth $116 million and is the exercise of an earlier contract option for 100 missiles.

"JASSM and JASSM-ER offer affordable, survivable, stand-off lethality needed for today's modern threats," said Jason Denney, program director of long-range strike systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

JASSM and its extended range variant are all-weather cruise missiles with an infrared seeker and enhanced digital anti-jam GPS receiver to dial into specific points on targets. The range of JASSM is more than 230 miles. The extended range JASSM lengthens that to more than 620 miles.

The contract option brings the total number of JASSM and JASSM-ER missiles delivered or under contract to more than 2,700, Lockheed Martin said.

Work under the contract option is expected to be completed by mid-2019.

U.S. State Department approves Qatar for missile buy
Washington (UPI) Apr 22, 2016 - Qatar is seeking the procurement of Rolling Airframe Missiles from the United States through the Foreign Military Sales program.

The proposed deal, approved by the State Department, is for 252 tactical missiles, two Rolling Airframe telemetry missiles and associated equipment and support.

The value of the deal would be an estimated $260 million.

"Qatar is an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Persian Gulf region," the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notification to Congress. "This proposed sale will provide Qatar with military capabilities to protect its naval forces and nearby oil/gas infrastructure from air and missile threats.

DSCA is the agency that manages the Foreign Military Sales program.

The principal contractor for the missiles would be Raytheon. Implementation of the sale would require multiple trips by Raytheon and U.S. government personnel to Qatar over a three-year period to conduct technical reviews, system integration, training and maintenance support.