DOD looks to Lockheed Martin to integrate the Joint Strike Missile into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

FORT WORTH, Texas, 2 June 2012. The DOD is participating in the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) Risk Reduction Study for the Norway Ministry of Defense by awarding Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co in Fort Worth, Texas, a $19.8 million modification to the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) LRIP IV contract.

The duties Lockheed Martin will perform includes physical fit checks, engineering analysis, wind tunnel tests and the designing and building of an adapter and emulator to determine the next steps in integrating the JSM into the F-35 JSF.

The Joint Strike Missile is a multi-role version of the anti-ship and land-attack missile called the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), which was developed by the Norweigian company Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace. The JSM will be capable of being fired from aerial vehicles, such as the F-35 JSF, rather than only naval ships as the NSM was. The JSM will be capable of attacking sea and land based targets with an improved range of 149 miles. Long-term production of the JSM is expected to begin in 2013. The JSM program was started in 2009.

The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is a single-seat, single-engine fifth generation multirole fighter. The F-35 features a conventional takeoff and landing variant, the F-35A, a short takeoff and vertical landing variant, the F-35B, and a carrier-based variant, the F-35C.