LRASM on B-52: NAVAIR Sole-Source Integration Notice
NAVAIR posted a sole-source notice for Lockheed to integrate AGM-158C LRASM on the B-52H, covering software updates, testing and failure review boards.
Naval Air Systems Command has told industry it intends to put the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile on the Air Force B-52H Stratofortress. A SAM.gov presolicitation published on 7 October 2026 under notice N00019-26-RFPREQ-WPM201-0237, titled “LRASM B-52 Integration and Test Support,” states that NAVAIR “intends to enter into sole source negotiations and subsequently award a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Delivery Order” to Lockheed Martin Corporation-Missiles and Fire Control against Basic Ordering Agreement N00019-23-G-0002.
Per that notice, the anticipated delivery order covers “missile software updates, associated testing, test asset repair, and failure review boards” for LRASM integration on the B-52. Responses were due 22 October 2026; under SAM’s inactive policy the notice became inactive on 6 November 2026. The notice cites 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.302-1 and states that Lockheed Martin “is the sole designer, developer, manufacturer, and integrator” of LRASM. It discloses no dollar value, missile quantity, or completion date. A SAM mirror lists the place of performance as Orlando, Florida.
Air & Space Forces Magazine reported on 8 October 2026 that the B-52 can already carry up to 20 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, the family from which LRASM is derived, and that the two weapons share similar dimensions. The magazine notes Naval News first reported B-52 LRASM interest in 2019. Lockheed spokesperson Scott Swofford, quoted in that article, described LRASM as providing “multiservice, multiplatform, and multimission capabilities for offensive anti-surface warfare.”
What the notice covers — and what it does not
The public record is a notice of intent, not an award. NAVAIR’s text on SAM.gov explicitly says there is “no commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, make an award or awards,” and that information “in no way binds the Government to solicit for or award a contract.” Scope items named in the notice are software, testing, test-asset repair and failure review boards; none of those lines names a new airframe hardpoint or a stated B-52 load-out for LRASM.
According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, the Air Force disclosed in June that a B-2A Spirit employed an LRASM against a decommissioned amphibious transport vessel during a Pacific exercise — the first public acknowledgment of B-2 use of the missile. The same report’s development timeline lists Air Force Early Operational Capability of AGM-158C on the B-1B Lancer in 2018 and Navy Early Operational Capability on the F/A-18E/F in 2019, with later flight testing on F-35C and F-35B. CRS’s Defense Primer on U.S. precision-guided munitions (updated 3 July 2025) separately notes that the Navy approved low-rate initial production in 2016 and is developing an AGM-158C-3 variant with extended range and improved communications.
NAVAIR’s LRASM product page describes the weapon as a near-term Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) air-launch capability against high-threat maritime targets. The page states that LRASM reduces dependency on ISR platforms, network links and GPS navigation in electronic-warfare environments, and that semi-autonomous guidance is intended to work with less-precise target cueing. Air & Space Forces Magazine places LRASM range near the baseline JASSM — just beyond 200 miles — while JASSM-ER reaches about 500 miles.
Production context: the September 2026 large-lot mod
Integration work sits alongside a separate production buy. According to the Department of War contracts announcement for 9 September 2026, as detailed by TheDefenseWatch and summarized by The Defense Post, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control an $825,975,480 modification (P00020) to contract FA8682-24-C-B001 for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and Long Range Anti-Ship Missile large-lot procurement. The modification raised the contract’s cumulative face value to $10,480,052,550 from $9,654,077,070.
Work under that modification is to be performed in Orlando, Florida, with completion expected by 31 July 2030, and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base is the contracting activity, per those reports of the Pentagon text. TheDefenseWatch notes that about $361.4 million was obligated at award across fiscal 2024–2026 missile and Navy weapons procurement accounts, plus RDT&E, operations and maintenance, and roughly $11.07 million in Foreign Military Sales funds — less than the full modification face value. The Defense Post adds that FY2025 budgeted quantities were 450 JASSMs and 115 LRASMs, and that longer-term lot planning could support much higher combined annual rates.
Key specs
| Item | Figure (source) |
|---|---|
| Notice ID | N00019-26-RFPREQ-WPM201-0237 (SAM.gov) |
| Published / response / inactive | Oct. 7 / Oct. 22 / Nov. 6, 2026 (SAM.gov) |
| Contract form intended | Sole-source CPFF delivery order on BOA N00019-23-G-0002 (SAM.gov) |
| Contractor named | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (SAM.gov) |
| Scope named | Missile software updates; testing; test-asset repair; failure review boards (SAM.gov) |
| Place of performance (mirror) | Orlando, Florida (Sweetspotgov SAM mirror) |
| Missile designation | AGM-158C LRASM; OASuW air-launch (NAVAIR) |
| Related production mod | $825,975,480 P00020 to FA8682-24-C-B001; cumulative $10.48B; through July 31, 2030 (DoW contracts Sept. 9, 2026 via TheDefenseWatch) |
| B-52 JASSM load (context) | Up to 20 JASSMs; similar dimensions to LRASM (Air & Space Forces Magazine) |
| Prior bomber carriage | B-1B EOC 2018; B-2 live-fire disclosed June 2026 (Air & Space Forces Magazine) |
Why it matters
Analysis, based on the sources cited in this article:
Putting LRASM on the B-52 would extend an already fielded anti-ship cruise missile onto the Air Force’s largest, longest-range conventional bomber after B-1 and B-2 carriage paths. Because the notice is software- and test-centric and the airframe already carries JASSM-family weapons of similar size, the binding public unknowns are award timing, test schedule and how many AGM-158Cs a B-52 would actually fly — none of which appear in the SAM.gov text.
For Indo-Pacific maritime strike, bomber-delivered LRASMs would add mass and range beyond carrier-based fighters, a point Mark Gunzinger of the Mitchell Institute made to Air & Space Forces Magazine. That logic intersects other standoff tools already covered on this site — from NMESIS shore-based anti-ship missiles near the First Island Chain to maritime patrol densification on the P-8A Poseidon — and to other B-52 weapons work such as ARRW hypersonic production. It also sits beside the bomber modernization path that includes the B-21 Raider.
What the record still does not show is a posted delivery-order award, a unit cost, a fielding date or a Taiwan Strait employment concept from an official brief. Until those appear in a contracts release or budget justification book, the October notice should be read as integration intent under a Navy BOA, not as proof that B-52 LRASM sorties are already funded to completion.
What to watch: a posted award or delivery-order number against N00019-23-G-0002; any quantity or schedule language in FY2027 budget documents; further B-52 software or weapons-integration line items; and whether C-3 extended-range LRASM (noted by CRS) is the variant tied to bomber carriage.
Sources
- U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, SAM.gov notice N00019-26-RFPREQ-WPM201-0237, LRASM B-52 Integration and Test Support, published 7 October 2026 (inactive 6 November 2026).
- NAVAIR, Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) product page.
- Congressional Research Service, Defense Primer: U.S. Precision-Guided Munitions (IF11353), updated 3 July 2025.
- Air & Space Forces Magazine, Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile Will Integrate onto B-52, Todd South, 8 October 2026.
- U.S. Department of War contracts for 9 September 2026 (Lockheed Martin JASSM/LRASM P00020), as detailed by TheDefenseWatch and The Defense Post.
Additional sources
- Sweetspotgov, LRASM B-52 Integration and Test Support (SAM mirror) — Orlando place of performance.
- The Defense Post, Lockheed Wins $826M US Contract for JASSM, LRASM Missiles, 14 September 2026.
Related coverage
- What Is the First Island Chain? China, Taiwan and the Pacific Line
- NMESIS: Marine Anti-Ship Missiles Head to Yonaguni
- P-8A Poseidon I3B2: Navy Buys $119.7M Upgrade Kits
- AGM-183A ARRW: Hypersonic Missile Enters Production
- B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Update
