The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has completed the integration and certification of Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) onto its F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jets, the Australian Ministry of Defense announced.

The missile is now ready for operational deployment and use from aircraft of this type, which will improve the anti-ship capabilities of the Australian Air Force.

The missile is now operationally ready for deployment, enhancing the RAAF’s anti-ship capabilities.

Testing took place last month off the coast of California, supported by U.S. Navy aviation units.

Australia allocated $95.5 million to purchase LRASM missiles in their standard configuration, which have a range of 370 kilometers.

Integration efforts extended beyond software updates to include other RAAF aircraft, such as the E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, working alongside U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

These platforms conducted coordinated target detection and missile guidance to optimize operational effectiveness.

In total, Australia plans to invest $28 billion to $35 billion in long-range strike capabilities, including the acquisition of extended-range cruise missiles and new hypersonic systems.

The RAAF employs the F/A-18F Super Hornet primarily as a strike platform, making it a key carrier for integrated weapon systems.

In addition to the LRASM, the aircraft is equipped with AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles and AGM-88G AARGM-ER anti-radiation missiles.
Militarnyi previously reported that the U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of a second batch of 100 AGM-88G AARGM-ER missiles to Australia.

Australia intends to purchase them for $405 million.