US approves AGM-184 Joint Strike Missile sale to Belgium for F-35A stealth strike operations.

Belgium is moving to give its future F-35A fleet a stealth-compatible long-range strike capability after the U.S. State Department approved on May 18, 2026, a possible $236 million sale of AGM-184 Joint Strike Missiles (JSM), according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The acquisition significantly expands the Belgian Air Force’s ability to strike defended land and maritime targets from outside hostile air-defense envelopes while preserving the low-observable characteristics that make the F-35 effective in penetration missions.

The AGM-184 JSM was specifically redesigned for internal carriage inside the F-35’s weapons bay, allowing Belgian fighters to conduct stand-off attacks without exposing themselves through external stores that increase radar visibility. With a range exceeding 350 kilometers, passive targeting systems, terrain-following flight capability, and in-flight datalink updates, the missile strengthens NATO’s broader shift toward survivable distributed strike operations against heavily defended targets in high-intensity warfare scenarios.

Related topic: Belgium to arm F-35 fighters with Norwegian Joint Strike Missiles to strike before being seen

The AGM-184 Joint Strike Missile represents Belgium’s first ability to strike heavily defended land or maritime targets hundreds of kilometers away without exposing its F-35 fighters directly to enemy air defenses. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

On May 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of State approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Belgium for AGM-184 Joint Strike Missiles valued at up to $236 million, adding a long-range air-launched strike capability previously absent from the Belgian Air Force inventory. The package includes AGM-184 missiles, spare parts, testing and multi-purpose missile equipment, software support, training devices, technical publications, transportation support, and contractor engineering and logistics services, although the quantity of missiles was not disclosed.

The acquisition is tied to Belgium’s Ammunition Readiness Plan 2025-2029, approved in July 2025, and to the expansion of the Belgian F-35A fleet from 34 to 45 units under the Strategic Vision 2025 framework adopted after the April 2025 Easter Agreement. Belgium joins Norway, Japan, Australia, Germany, and the United States among F-35 operators procuring internally carried stand-off strike weapons, with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and RTX Corporation identified as principal contractors. 

The Joint Strike Missile (JSM), also known as the AGM-184, derives from the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) developed by Kongsberg for Norwegian naval forces, but the air-launched variant required a major redesign to fit inside the F-35's internal weapons bay without external pylons. Engineers reduced missile width, modified fuselage shaping, redesigned wing deployment geometry, and altered control surfaces because external stores increase radar cross-section and reduce the survivability of low-observable aircraft during penetration missions.

Unlike the NSM optimized for maritime strike operations, the AGM-184 adds land-attack capability, two-way datalink connectivity, and mission flexibility for long-range air-launched operations. The missile retains terrain-following flight logic, sea-skimming capability, passive guidance architecture, and Imaging Infrared target acquisition intended to complicate interception by radar-guided defenses and electronic warfare systems. The missile weighs 416 kilograms, measures 4 meters in length, and carries a 120-kilogram blast-fragmentation warhead intended for strikes against surface combatants, radar sites, infrastructure, and relocatable military targets.

Propulsion is provided by a Williams International F-415 turbofan engine, allowing an operational range exceeding 350 kilometers in high-high-low flight profiles, while low-altitude terrain-following trajectories reduce range in exchange for lower radar exposure. Guidance combines GPS-aided inertial navigation, TERCOM navigation, Imaging Infrared acquisition, Autonomous Target Recognition capability, passive RF targeting, and a two-way datalink permitting in-flight target updates and cooperative targeting. The missile flies at high subsonic speed, at approximately Mach 0.9 (around 1,110 km/h or 310 m/s), and uses terrain masking and sea-skimming profiles to compress engagement timelines for hostile air-defense networks. 

Belgium selected the F-35A in October 2018 and signed the original procurement contract in April 2020, with total fleet-related expenditures estimated between €6.5 billion and €12.4 billion once infrastructure, sustainment, training, and weapons integration are included. During 2025 and 2026, Brussels confirmed the acquisition of 11 additional fighters, increasing the planned fleet to 45 F-35As, while also examining assembly arrangements through the Cameri FACO facility in Italy to expand European industrial participation.

Belgian F-35As are delivered in the Technology Refresh 3 (TR3) configuration, increasing processing power, memory capacity, and sensor-fusion capability required for future Block 4 weapons integration, including the AGM-184 Joint Strike Missile. Modernization at Florennes Air Base and Kleine-Brogel Air Base includes hardened shelters, simulator complexes, mission planning centers, restricted-access maintenance facilities, and secure data infrastructure funded through an estimated €275 million investment. 

The first Belgian F-35As arrived at Florennes on October 13, 2025, after pilot conversion and maintainer training at Luke Air Force Base and Eglin Air Force Base in the United States, while a fourth aircraft remained temporarily at Lajes Air Base in the Azores for technical verification before later joining the fleet. Integration of the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) extends Belgian strike reach beyond the engagement envelope of many short- and medium-range air defense systems while enabling launch-from-offset-range tactics instead of the F-16's direct penetration operations.

Internal carriage also allows Belgian F-35As to retain low-observable characteristics while conducting maritime strike and land-attack missions against defended targets. The missile’s passive guidance architecture reduces reliance on active radar emissions during terminal engagement, while Autonomous Target Recognition improves discrimination between valid targets and decoys in cluttered littoral environments. Belgium’s procurement follows the rapid expansion of Joint Strike Missile (JSM) acquisition programs among NATO and Indo-Pacific F-35 operators.

Norway became the first operational user in April 2025, Japan initiated procurement batches beginning in 2019, Australia confirmed acquisition in September 2024 while launching domestic production plans near RAAF Base Williamtown, and Germany signed a €478.7 million agreement with Norway in June 2025, followed by a new agreement on May 18, 2026. The U.S. Air Force ordered 48 missiles in FY2024, 50 missiles in FY2025, and additional production lots in FY2026, including a Lot 2 contract announced in December 2025 valued at $240.9 million with production extending through 2028.

Unlike larger externally carried missiles such as Taurus KEPD 350 or AGM-158 JASSM, the JSM is optimized from the start for internal F-35 carriage, allowing stealth aircraft to preserve low-observable characteristics during stand-off strike operations. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace remains the prime missile designer and integrator, while RTX contributes through component production and integration support tied to U.S. procurement structures. Kongsberg announced a missile production facility in Virginia in September 2024 for assembly, repair, and upgrade work on NSM and JSM missiles, while Australian infrastructure near Newcastle entered construction in April 2025 to support future manufacturing outside Norway.

Belgium, meanwhile, continues seeking stronger European participation within its F-35 program through Cameri FACO and through domestic firms including SABCA, Sonaca, Asco Industries, and ILIAS Solutions, which already produce structural assemblies, titanium fittings, logistics software, and maintenance systems for the wider F-35 supply chain. The AGM-184 JSM acquisition establishes Belgium’s first dedicated long-range conventional air-launched strike capability and aligns with broader NATO priorities involving distributed strike operations, maritime denial, ammunition reserve expansion, and survivability against integrated air defense systems during high-intensity warfare scenarios.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.