Norwegian F-35A with Kongsberg JSM Joint strike missile

Norway has decided to procure the F-35, the Joint Strike Fighter, manufactured by Lockheed Martin to replace its F-16s. The Royal Norwegian Air Force needs a modern weapon system for its new aircraft, and has decided to develop a new missile, the Joint Strike Missile, JSM, which can be carried externally and internally in the bomb bay of the F-35.

The JSM missile system is designed for both Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW) and Naval Fire Support (NFS) missions in:

Open sea
Littoral
Over land


To comply with operation in these areas the missile system has been designed with:

Advanced engagement planning system which exploits the geography in the area
Accurate navigation system for flight close to terrain
High maneuverability to allow flight planning in close vicinity to land masses
Imaging target seeker for discrimination of land and non-targets


The JSM long range facilitates:

Launch platform standoff
Flexibility in engagement planning
Sea control / Sea denial over a wide area
Naval fire support and strike missions at long distance


The JSM weapon Data Link will be a two-way networking data link that will offer the following capabilities to the operator:

Target Update
Re-Targeting
Mission abort
Bomb Hit Indication (BHI)
The JSM Weapon Data Link Network will be a Link 16 compatible data link and will be compliant with standard military equipment.

The JSM missile is primarily designed for operations from fixed wing aircraft platforms.
Concept studies are under way to establish the requirements related to other platforms.

F-35 partner nations have expressed great interest in the new missile, some of the partner nations are funding work for integration of the JSM to the F-35.