JSM enters series production

A Joint Strike Missile (JSM) being released from the F-35A AF-01 instrumented test platform over Edwards Air Force Base, California. Series production of JSM for the Royal Norwegian Air Force commenced on 21 October, with the signing of an approximately USD473.3 million contract between the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. (Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency )

The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) on 21 October awarded Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) a NOK3.95 billion (USD473.3 million) contract to supply the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) fleet of F-35A Conventional Take-Off and Landing Lightning II multirole stealth fighters with the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) long-range precision-guided stealthy anti-surface missile. The number of JSM units to be acquired under the provisions of the contract was not disclosed.

The series production milestone follows the successful completion this year of four JSM in-flight test releases from the US Air Force 412th Test Wing F-35A AF-01 instrumented test platform over Edwards Air Force Base, California – two initial tests in February, and two follow-up tests in June – and, with some overlap, moves the JSM programme from Phase 3 (missile final development, industrialisation, integration and testing on the F-35 platform) to Phase 4 and series production of the missile for the RNoAF.

However, while the JSM development is technically independent of Norway's participation in the F-35 programme, its progress, including an initial operational capability, is being driven by the ‘follow-on development' effort for the F-35, with the missile delivered through several upcoming capability increments assigned to the platform under the scope of the Block 4 software release planning timeline.