Long Range Standoff Weapon

The AGM-181A Long Range Standoff Weapon is the nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile being developed by Raytheon to replace the aging AGM-86B ALCM, which entered service in 1982 and has been life-extended well past its original design margin. LRSO pairs a new, low-observable airframe with a refurbished W80-4 warhead produced by NNSA, giving B-52H Stratofortress and B-21 Raider crews a stand-off weapon capable of penetrating advanced integrated air defenses.

Raytheon won sole-source development in 2020 after a competitive phase against Lockheed Martin. The program protects the air-breathing leg of the U.S. nuclear triad at a moment when adversary IADS capability is growing, and it is the single largest Air Force nuclear modernization item outside of the Sentinel ICBM.

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