The U.S. Navy just tested a new long-range bomb that can be dropped from an F/A-18 Super Hornet and fly over 300 nautical miles to its target—a 20-fold range extension from the standard JDAM. Called the GBU-75 JDAM-LR, the weapon is the answer to a critical problem: how do non-stealth Super Hornets stay relevant against China’s increasingly sophisticated air defenses?
The F/A-18 Super Hornet Is Getting A Big Weapons Upgrade
The United States Navy is keen on extending the strike range of its carrier-based fighter jets by making long-range, stand-off munitions available to them. And earlier this month, the Navy made good on that wish, successfully testing a new standoff strike weapon.
That munition, called the GBU-75 Joint Direct Attack Munition Long Range, or JDAM-LR, was fired from a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet over the Navy’s Point Mugu Sea Range in California.
Like other munitions in the JDAM family, the JDAM-LR is essentially a dumb, free-fall bomb equipped with a precision-guidance kit. Early JDAM munitions have typically been outfitted with a tail kit and GPS guidance kit to bring them to target.
Depending on the variant and environmental and launch conditions, earlier JDAMS have a range of approximately 15 miles.
This newer missile’s range is significantly greater, at over 300 nautical miles.
Pushing Boundaries
“As Naval Air Forces in theater continue to rely heavily on JDAM systems, the program recognizes a critical need to provide the fleet with greater standoff range,” said Captain Sarah Abbott, Precision Strike Weapons program manager. “This new capability allows pilots to engage targets from significantly safer distances, maintaining a tactical advantage in contested environments.”
U.S. Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Michael Cordova directs an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on Jan. 10, 2026. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is underway conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Units assigned to 7th Fleet conduct regular Indo-Pacific patrols to deter aggression, strengthen alliances and partnerships, and advance peace through strength. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman)
The JDAM-LR’s range is achieved through the mating of several different components to the JDAM munition, Boeing explained in a press release, including foldable wings, built by Ferra Engineering, an Australian firm, as well as a TDI-J85 turbine engine made by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc.
Importantly, the JDAM-LR is compatible with aircraft that are already qualified with previous JDAM munitions.
Testing, 1, 2, 3
Boeing explained that the first JDAM-LR flight test, on the first of April, “demonstrated safe separation, engine start, cruise, and guidance through terminal flight and impact in water after a 34-minute flight. The weapon sustained powered flight for nearly 200 nautical miles and landed within meters of its planned target.”
During the second test, just two days later, “teams flew a second planned flight profile, successfully incorporating altitude changes and weapon maneuvering during an otherwise similar flight.” In the future, “data and lessons” gleaned from the recent flight will be used to “finalize JDAM LR software and hardware for future testing.”
Naval Air Systems Command, or NAVAIR, released a video of the testing event to X, formerly Twitter, in which the JDAM-LR is released from a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet and flies to the target.
Ranges Extended
In virtually all conflicts involving the United States following the end of the Cold War, American combat aviation has fought enemies with little to no robust air defenses and, consequently, has enjoyed near air supremacy.
USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Super Hornet. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft approaches the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), Nov. 17, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)
Capt. Tim Waits, commanding officer of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), climbs into an F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102, while underway in the South China Sea, Nov. 24, 2025. George Washington is the U.S. Navy’s premier forward-deployed aircraft carrier, a long-standing symbol of the United States’ commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, while operating alongside allies and partners across the U.S. Navy’s largest numbered fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Geoffrey L. Ottinger)
But as the United States rearms and retools for a large-scale conflict against a peer adversary with robust air defenses, combat aircraft will not enjoy the same degree of freedom as during the last three and a half decades.
Although no stealth aircraft have been lost during the course of the ongoing war in Iran, the fighting has exposed how vulnerable fourth-generation, non-stealthy aircraft can be.
For aircraft like the Navy’s Super Hornet to remain relevant against, say, China, that platform will have to leverage long-range, standoff munitions like the JDAM-ER.
The Challenge of the Indo-Pacific
Naval mines are currently topical, given the hostilities against Iran and in the Strait of Hormuz.
And while Iran’s ability to effectively choke off traffic through the Strait with mines has been laid bare, the long-range deployment of naval mines by the United States is an angle that American combat aircraft could pursue in the future.
The distances across the Indo-Pacific are immense, but one strategy for tackling those distances in the future may be to leverage America’s B-52 Stratofortress bombers.
Though strategic bombers have both the range and payload capacity to threaten wide swaths of the Indo-Pacific, and previous JDAM-LR testing revealed that the munition can be used to deploy anti-ship naval mines.
During that evaluation, 20 JDAM-LRs were deployed with a single B-52 Stratofortress, highlighting both the speed and scale at which the relatively inexpensive — and now long-range — munitions can be deployed.
Outside the range of enemy air defenses, the JDAM-LR and related munitions promise to keep warplanes out of harm’s way while also remaining combat-relevant.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
