New missile allows Marine pilots to strike
far, avoid air defenses
By Todd South
Sep 17, 2024,
02:00 PM
Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 load an AGM-158A joint air-to-surface standoff missile on an F/A-18 Hornet. (Lance Cpl. Jennifer Sanchez)
Marine fighter pilots now
have a missile that can strike targets up to 230 miles away, keeping aviators
out of the range of many enemy air defense systems.
In late August, personnel
with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 11 and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron
232 out of Miramar, California, became the first to run ordnance operations
with the missile — the AGM-158A — using F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, Marine
officials said.
The Air Force first used
the air-to-ground missile in combat in 2018, firing it from B-1B Lancer bombers
to strike a Syrian chemical weapons manufacturer, according to the statement.
“The (missile) not only
surpasses the capabilities of any other weapon currently in the Hornet’s
extensive weapons portfolio, but also the Marine Corps at large,” said Maj.
Bradley Kirby, an aviation ordnance officer with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
The missile, which is also
slated for use on F-35B and F-35C aircraft, comes in two variants: the AGM-158B
extended range version and the AGM-158C long-range, anti-ship version.
Cpl. Danny Santelmo
unloads an AGM-158A joint air-to-surface standoff missile at Marine Corps Air
Station Miramar, California. (Lance Cpl. Jennifer Sanchez/Marine Corps)
The Lockheed Martin-manufactured extended
range variant can strike targets out to 620 miles, Air Force
Times previously reported.
Marines validated and
verified the missile for use on the Hornet through a series of tests that
included loading, software compatibility, transportation, safe handling, weapon
arming and de-arming.
The validation process is
often completed using a training round, but Marines used live munitions due to
the unavailability of training versions.
The work done by the
munitions and safety specialists involved will be used to develop a set of
checklists for future use of the weapon, said Warrant Officer Josiah Hood, a
squadron ordnance officer
Meanwhile, the missile is
one of multiple new tools to debut this year for Marine Corps aviation.
In July, a Marine
helicopter crew sank a moving training vessel near Okinawa,
Japan, with a newly acquired “fire and forget” missile, the AGM-179.
That was the first time
the Corps used that munition in a strike mission, Marine Corps Times previously
reported.
An AH-1Z Viper crew
belonging to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Reinforced) and attached to
the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted the training mission.
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