Thursday, May 2, 2024
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Key Issues HADES deployment SAOC contract FORGE framework
The Joint Strike Missile, which is specifically designed to fit inside the F-35A weapons bay, completed its first flight test in the United States last week.
The munition was launched from an F-16 at 22,000 feet over the Utah Test and Training Range, according to a Nov. 10 statement from the missiles manufacturer, Kongsberg.
"The test proved the maturity of the missile . . . and the missile flight control software," the statement reads.
The JSM is being developed by Kongsberg in partnership with Raytheon for the Norwegian Armed Forces. The missile will complete its qualification program in 2017.
"This is a major accomplishment for the JSM program, and in addition several critical capabilities beyond the scope of the test were verified. The test demonstrates that we are on track with the qualification of JSM, which brings critical capability to [the] F-35 and the warfighter," Kongsberg Defence Systems President Harald Ånnestad said in the statement.
The munition is planned to be integrated into the Air Force's F-35A Joint Strike Fighter conventional-takeoff-and-landing variant but can be used on other types of aircraft.
"This successful flight test further validates that JSM will be an ideal solution for the medium-range anti-ship and land-attack mission," Mike Jarrett, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Air Warfare Systems, said in the statement.
Inside the Navy reported in June that Kongsberg and Raytheon will likely team up to offer their joint Naval Strike Missile, a variant of the JSM, as an over-the-horizon solution for the Navy's future frigate program.
The NSM has already been successfully demonstrated in the United States, Kyrre Lohne, vice president of strategic communications for Kongsberg wrote in a June 22 email to ITN, noting that the Navy fired the weapon aboard the Coronado (LCS-4) in September, 2014. NSM was also successfully launched July 10, 2014, from the Norwegian frigate Fridtjob Nansen during the Rim of the Pacific maritime security exercise off the coast of Hawaii.