A Long Range Anti Ship Missile (LRASM) is launched from a Mk. 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) aboard the Navy’s Self-Defense Test Ship, a converted Spruance-class destroyer. Lockheed Martin was recently awarded an $86.5 million contract for low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the missile, but the ship-launched version promises even more long-range anti-ship capability for Navy vessels to counter very long-range Russian and Chinese anti-ship missiles. The Navy and Lockheed Martin will admit to a range in excess of 200 nautical miles, but the JASSM-ER, on which LRASM is based, has a stated range of 500 nautical miles. Considering the additional weight of the specialized sensor package and other modifications to LRASM, actual range is likely to be somewhere in between the two figures.