Japan awards Kongsberg another follow-on contract for Joint Strike Missiles

Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace announced on 1 December that it has signed an NOK820 million (USD92.4 million) follow-on contract to provide additional precision-guided Joint Strike Missiles (JSMs) for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF’s) growing fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters.

The company pointed out that this is the second follow-on contract for JSMs awarded by Japan. The first one, announced on 12 November 2019, had been valued at NOK450 million. A contract to provide “initial deliveries” of the missile, which has been designed to fit in the internal weapons bay of the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) F-35A, was announced in March 2019 but the value of that initial deal was not revealed.

Computer-generated imagery showing an F-35 fighter releasing JSMs. Kongsberg announced on 1 December that it had secured a second follow-on contract to provide the JASDF with an undisclosed number of JSMs for the service’s growing F-35 fleet. (Kongsberg)

No details were provided about the number of missiles set to be supplied or the delivery schedule. That said, a Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesperson had told Janes on 9 September that Tokyo is expected to start taking delivery of the JSMs from April 2021.

Development of the JSM, which is the only long-range sea- and land-target missile that can be carried internally in the F-35, began in 2008 and was completed in mid-2018 after a series of validation test firings. The missile has a range of about 500 km and can thus be launched from a stand-off distance.