Breaking news
Kongsberg to start flight test of its new Joint Strike Missile in 2015.
| 2014
| a | |||
| |
|||
World
Aviation Defense and Security Industry News - Kongsberg |
|||
| Kongsberg to start flight tests of its new Joint Strike Missile in 2015 | |||
Kongsberg
is reportedly set to start flight testing of its new joint strike missile
(JSM) aboard a Lockheed Martin-built F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft in
2015. Capable of attacking land and sea-based targets, the long-range
missile is being developed to arm the Royal Norwegian Air Force's (RoNAF)
fleet of 52 F-35A
conventional take-off and landing aircraft. |
|||
 Kongsberg's JSM long-range missile |
|||
Kongsberg
has already performed fit checks on the external hard points of all three
F-35
joint strike fighter variants, and in the internal weapons bay on
the A- and C-models. Kongsberg Defence Systems president Harald Ånnestad was quoted by the publication as saying the missile had been developed in parallel with the design of the weapons bay on the stealth aircraft. "Further 'integration and risk-reduction work' is ongoing in collaboration with Lockheed, and the missile will achieve initial operational capability in 2021, in line with the release of the Block 4 software load on F-35," Ånnestad said. According to Ånnestad, several other countries, both F-35 customers and those operating other aircraft, have expressed interest in the purchase of JSM. "The missile had been developed in parallel with the design of the weapons bay on the stealth aircraft." Despite completing fit checks on the F-15 and F-18 fighters, Kongsberg indicated earlier that integration work will not be carried out without a confirmed customer. The company received a NKr1.1bn ($177m) Phase III contract from the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation in July to complete the development and integration of the JSM onto the F-35 fighter. Developed in collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, the JSM is a long-range anti-surface missile primarily designed to be integrated within the F-35's internal weapons bay, enabling engagement of both land and naval objects protected by advanced defence systems. The production of the missile, which features an advanced engagement planning, a navigation system and an automated target recognition with imaging target seeker for discrimination between red, white and blue ships, is expected to be completed by 2017. |
|||