Lockheed Martin and Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (Kongsberg) of Norway have entered into a Joint Marketing Agreement to market an air-launched version of the Naval Strike Missile. The missile, to be called the Joint Strike Missile (JSM), is designed to be carried internally and launched externally from the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. The JSM will build upon the Naval Strike Missile.
The 1,000-pound, stealthy and highly maneuverable anti-ship missile has the capability to strike sea and land targets with its new titanium warhead and programmable fuze. It employs Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS) guidance with a unique imaging infrared seeker, in-flight data link and an automatic target recognizer (ATR). The missile has a maximum range of more than 130 nautical miles.
The agreement will benefit the warfighter by combining the strength and experience of Lockheed Martin and Kongsberg to market a new capability. Kongsberg has strong experience in anti-ship missiles, weapons integration, target recognition software and mission planning systems. Lockheed Martin has strong experience in air-launched missiles, target recognition software, mission planning systems, integration of weapons into Lockheed Martin-produced fixed-wing aircraft and software support for those weapons.
The stealthy F-35 is a supersonic, multi-role 5th Generation fighter designed to replace a wide range of existing aircraft, including the AV-8B Harrier, A-10, F-16, F/A-18 Hornet and United Kingdom Harrier GR.7 and Sea Harrier.
