AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon

<p>The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is a <a href="/facts/Glide_bomb/8kHYdVGQ">glide bomb</a> that resulted from a joint venture between the United States <a href="/facts/United_States_Navy/xYK0fUou">Navy</a> and <a href="/facts/United_States_Air_Force/7MxWBYlc">Air Force</a> to deploy a standardized medium-range precision-guided weapon, especially for engagement of defended targets from outside the range of standard <a href="/facts/Anti-aircraft/fHtGQpLy">anti-aircraft</a> defenses, thereby increasing aircraft survivability and minimizing friendly losses.
It is intended to be used against <a href="/facts/Soft_target/YK8pRe5A">soft targets</a> such as parked <a href="/facts/Aircraft/EhC4mBep">aircraft</a>, <a href="/facts/Truck/9GMJWsQU">trucks</a>, <a href="/facts/Armoured_personnel_carrier/I5yvRywl">armored personnel carriers</a> (APCs), and <a href="/facts/Surface-to-air_missile/2qEW5P07">surface-to-air missile</a> sites (SAMs). Prior to launch, it is given a destination through either a predesignated <a href="/facts/Waypoint/JAytkj9C">waypoint</a> or a point marked through a <a href="/facts/Targeting_pod/rJodcYa7">targeting pod</a>. It glides, using two wings that pop out for added lift, to the marked destination and dispenses <a href="/facts/Cluster_munition/QpvG4eeR">submunitions</a> in a short, roughly linear pattern. The designation of the <i>Joint Standoff Weapon</i> as an "air-to-ground missile" is a <a href="/facts/Misnomer/P4TnsX3H">misnomer</a>, as it is an unpowered <a href="/facts/Bomb/GoH38wo1">bomb</a> with guidance <a href="/facts/Avionics/F4gQJBJn">avionics</a>, similar to the older <a href="/facts/GBU-15/r2Ic7qte">GBU-15</a>.
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AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon open-in-new

AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon