P-8A Poseidon Patrol Aircraft Test-Flights a Long-Range LRASM Missile

The U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft was spotted flying for the first time with a long-range LRASM anti-ship missile.

The Aviationist reported on this.

On August 28, 2025, aviation photographer Aaron Maurer published a photo of the plane flying over the Mojave Desert in X, where a missile is clearly visible under the left wing. This is the first public image of a P-8 Poseidon equipped with an AGM-158C LRASM missile in flight.

The U.S. Navy later confirmed to Newsweek that the photo credits were indeed of the LRASM and mentioned that integration work on the P-8A was still ongoing.

The start of LRASM integration work on the P-8 Poseidon was first reported in April 2023, although it was launched in 2022.

According to the Naval Aviation Systems Command (NAVAIR), flight testing and integration of the LRASM long-range cruise missile on the P-8A started in 2022. The integration was scheduled to be completed in fiscal year 2024.

However, Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of these anti-ship missiles, announced at the time that the integration of the missiles into Poseidon patrol aircraft would continue until 2025.

The P-8A Poseidon will be able to carry up to four AGM-158C missiles under its wings. Due to their size, they do not fit in the aircraft’s weapons bay, so they will be mounted on an external suspension.

AGM-158C

This is an anti-ship variant of the Lockheed Martin AGM-158B JASSM cruise missile with a launch weight of about 1100 kg. The range of the missile in the aviation version is declared to be about 1000 km, the weight of its penetrating high-explosive warhead is 454 kg.

The shape and coating of the missile help to reduce radar visibility, and the missile itself is equipped with guidance systems that allow detecting and identifying targets in a given square, as well as communicating with other missiles, distributing targets among themselves.

After launching, LRASM moves to the attack line using GPS navigation, and then autonomously detects, classifies and destroys the designated ship using onboard sensors.

The plan is to develop three versions of the missile: TDF LRASM 1.0, LRASM 1.1, and LRASM C-3. The basic LRASM 1.0 reached early operational capability in 2019 and has already been integrated into the B-1B Lancer and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Work is also underway to integrate the missile on the F-15 and F-35. LRASM 1.1 is still undergoing initial operational testing (IOT&E).

In late August, Russian fighter jets “intercepted” an American P-8 Poseidon aircraft equipped with a secret radar module over the Black Sea.