The U.S. Navy demonstrated a new JDAM long-range variant powered by a small turbojet engine during two testing sessions.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) announced the recent demonstration of the JDAM Long Range (LR), the latest variant of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). The service described the new variant as a game changer.
test
The Navy said the test was conducted in early April, and photo data from the DVIDS network confirms the capture date as April 1, 2026. Tests were conducted off the coast of California with the participation of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake.
A New Era of Precision Attacks: JDAM LR Completes Milestone Test Flight
The U.S. Navy has successfully demonstrated a new JDAM long-range variant, taking a major step forward in providing affordable long-range standoff capabilities to the carrier air wing. https://t.co/GvMomaPnSp pic.twitter.com/cNgEgnZGXy
— NAVAIR (@NAVAIRNews) April 20, 2026
The photo shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet and an F/A-18F of the 31st Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) each carrying one bomb. Both weapons, believed to use 500-pound warheads, were inert.
Two test events demonstrated safe separation of the weapons, according to the statement. Ability to use existing aircraft interfaces; Controlled and powered free flight and navigation are possible. Each demonstration traveled approximately 200 nautical miles and maintained consistent guidance directly to the target, the Navy said.
“As Naval Air Forces across the theater continue to rely heavily on JDAM systems, this program recognizes the critical need to provide the fleet with greater range,” said Capt. Sarah Abbott, Precision Strike Weapon (PMA-201) program manager. “This new capability allows pilots to engage targets at much safer distances and maintain a tactical advantage in contested environments.”
The Navy said the next phase of qualification will focus on ship integration to quickly provide this high-priority strike capability to the fleet. It’s unclear whether the new weapon will complement or replace existing weapons, but it’s worth noting that the Navy ended the JSOW-ER program in 2022, which would have provided a weapon with a similar range to the JDAM-LR.
JDAM-LR
The JDAM Long Range was initially known as Powered JDAM (PJDAM), and reports of the weapon’s development date back to 2010. This weapon reappeared in 2020 as an inexpensive ranged weapon.
The Navy explained in a short video posted on social media that adding a small turbojet engine can transform a standard JDAM into a low-cost, high-precision cruise missile. In a recent product card, Boeing confirmed Kratos Defense’s TDI J85 engine, which it had already announced for PJDAM.
The company says that if the Mk-82 500lb bomb is replaced with a “low-cost decoy fuel tank” the weapon can reach a range of over 300NM, or 700+NM. Quickstrike and Maritime Strike variants are also shown during wind tunnel testing.
Compared to the JDAM Extended Range (ER), the new weapon uses a different body, including the standard JDAM tail kit, the ER’s wing kit and a turbojet engine. The warhead is also partially surrounded by the new body, about half of which protrudes forward.
JDAM-LR uses standard JDAM’s existing aircraft interface and In-Weapon Launch Acceptable Region (LAR), allowing for faster integration. This allows aircraft already approved to use the standard JDAM to also use the new variant.
It is unclear whether the new weapon has already received military designation.
JDAM extended scope
The standard JDAM kit consists of a tail section with body strakes and a Global Positioning System (GPS/INS) for additional stability and lift. JDAM Extended Range (JDAM ER) adds a set of low-cost wings to extend JDAM’s standoff range beyond 40 miles.
According to Boeing officials, the development of this kit was aided by the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). “The JDAM ER wing kit leverages the existing JDAM aircraft interface and small-diameter bomb glide technology,” Beth Kluba, then vice president of Boeing Weapons and Missile Systems, said in 2015.
JDAM-ER began in 2006/2008 when Boeing and Australia’s Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) jointly developed and tested a wing kit for the 500-pound GBU-38/B JDAM. The resulting glide bomb triples the range of the JDAM, which some sources say can reach up to 50 miles when launched from high altitudes. The GBU-62 JDAM-ER entered service with the Royal Australian Air Force in 2016.
In 2009, Boeing launched a similar effort, and South Korean company Times Aerospace Korea (TAK) developed the JDAM-ER wing kit for the 2000-pound GBU-31/B JDAM. The development period was expected to be 40 months, but the weapon’s operational date was not disclosed.
The only confirmed U.S. military application for JDAM-ER is as part of the Quickstrike mines, specifically the Quickstrike ER. In fact, the designations GBU-62(V)1/B and GBU-64(V)1/B refer to the 500 lb MK 62 and 2000 lb MK 64 mines respectively equipped with the JDAM-ER kit.
