Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (‘KONGSBERG’) has signed a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia to deliver the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth multirole combat aircraft. The initial contract is worth about NOK 1 billion. The specific JSM capabilities enhance the advanced F-35A aircraft, creating a formidable capability against land and sea targets, and boosting Australia’s ability to strike targets from long-range. Last week, the Australian Government announced a decision to invest in the construction of a new factory for KONGSBERG strike missiles in Newcastle, Australia.
“We are pleased that Australia has joined Norway, Japan and the US in selecting the JSM. This is yet another contract that underlines the relevance of JSM in the pacific region. Australia’s participation will benefit the program and the other user nations through both competence and resources. Finally, the introduction of JSM is another important milestone in our cooperation with Australian authorities to maintain and ultimately produce missiles in Australia,” said Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) has been specifically designed for internal carriage on the F-35 aircraft and provides a significant long range maritime strike and land attack capability. JSM is an air-launched strike missile and is designed to fulfill complex missions, such as Anti-surface Warfare (ASuW) and land attack. The primary targets are typically movable highly defended and high-value assets on sea, in coastal waters or on land. JSM has advanced off-board, on-board and in-flight mission planning capability and can engage targets based on a pre-defined set of Rules-of-Engagement. Development of the JSM was contracted by the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA).
Australia’s first F-35, designated A35-001, was manufactured in 2014, with flight training provided through international Pilot Training Centre (PTC) at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. By 2021, the Royal Australian Air Force had accepted 26 F-35As, with nine in the US and 17 operating at No 3 Squadron and No 2 Operational Conversion Unit at RAAF Base Williamtown. With 41 trained RAAF pilots and 225 trained technicians for maintenance, the fleet was declared ready to deploy on operations. It was originally expected that Australia would receive all 72 F-35s by 2023, but as of February 2024 Australia has received 63 aircraft. Its final nine aircraft are expected in 2024, and are expected to be the TR-3 version.
