US State Department Greenlights $250 Million Sale of AGM-154 JSOWs to Morocco

The US State Department has approved a potential Foreign Military Sale to Morocco for the acquisition of Joint Stand Off Weapons (JSOW) and associated equipment, estimated at $250 million. The Moroccan government has requested forty (40) AGM-154C Joint Stand Off Weapons (JSOW), along with Dummy Air Training Missiles, Captive Flight Vehicles (CFVs), Free Flight Vehicles (FFVs), containers, mission planning support, integration support, munitions storage security and training, software development, transportation, test equipment, support equipment, spare parts, publications documentation, personnel training equipment, and other logistical and program support elements.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense Company, based in Tucson, Arizona, will serve as the main contractor for this sale, with no known offset agreements proposed. The acquisition will enhance Morocco’s defense capabilities against current and future threats, with the intention to utilize the missiles on their F-16 multi-role fighter aircraft. The AGM-154 JSOWs will provide advanced capabilities in protecting critical sea lanes and bolster the Royal Moroccan Air Force’s maritime partnership potential, aligning their capabilities with regional standards. Morocco is fully capable of integrating these weapons into its Air Forces.

The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is a glide bomb jointly developed by the US Navy and Air Force, designed to engage defended targets beyond the range of standard anti-aircraft defenses. It is a fire-and-forget weapon employing GPS/INS navigation and is suitable for day/night and adverse weather operations. The JSOW-C variant features an infra-red seeker for terminal guidance. Despite being designated as an “air-to-ground missile,” the JSOW is an unpowered bomb with guidance avionics, similar to the GBU-15.

Measuring slightly over 410 centimeters (160 inches) in length and weighing around 450 kilograms (1,000 pounds), the AGM-154A (JSOW-A) entered service in 1999. The AGM-154B (JSOW B) was developed by the Navy and Air Force but was not procured by the Navy when the Air Force left the program. The AGM-154C (JSOW BROACH) with the BROACH warhead entered service in February 2005, featuring an Imaging Infrared (IIR) terminal seeker for autonomous guidance. It is designed to engage hardened targets and carries a two-stage 225 kg (500 lb) warhead composed of a WDU-44 shaped augmenting warhead and a WDU-45 follow-through bomb. The US Navy began using the AGM-154C in February 2005.