Article Posted on : - Apr 14, 2011

An artistic illustration of the Joint Strike Missile.

KONGSBERG (BNS): The Norwegian Government has decided to put forth a proposal before the Parliament for the second phase development of the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) system being designed for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

If the Parliament approves the proposal, the country’s major defence contractor Kongsberg Gruppen, which is developing the new weapon for the F-35 jets, will continue the JSM development till 2013.

The defence firm said that there is a consensus between it and the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organization for a JSM phase II development contract worth 535 million NOK (over $98 million).

Kongsberg was awarded 166 million NOK (about $25 million) in 2009 for the first phase development of the JSM. The contract was scheduled to run over the next 18 months.

The JSM is being developed as a long-range stand-off missile with both land- and anti-ship capabilities to carry out anti surface warfare (ASuW) and naval fire support (NFS) missions.

It is presently being designed to be carried both externally and internally in the bomb bay of the F-35 jet. Kongsberg and Lockheed - the manufacturer of F-35 fighters - have signed an agreement to integrate the missile on the aircraft.

Norway plans to buy a total of 56 F-35 fighters to replace its F-16 jets.

Kongsberg also sees a large potential for future deliveries of the JSM to other F-35 customers.