Joint Strike Missile - Successful testing.....

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PICTURES: Why Norway wants the Joint Strike Missile

By 

Craig Hoyle

 on June 6, 2013 9:42 PM |

Remember the fuss that Norway made about not committing to buying Lockheed Martin's F-35 until it got a promise to have Kongsberg's Joint Strike Missile (JSM) integrated for anti-ship and land attack missions? Well, new images released by the nation's defence ministry today provide a hint at why its was so insistent.

The ship-launched Naval Strike Missile from which the JSM is being developed is now operational, following a successful (understatement of the week) firing performed from one of the navy's Skjold-class corvettes; possibly one of the coolest-looking surface vessels out there today.

As the images below show, the weapon's live warhead made a significant mess of the retired Oslo-class frigate which served as its target during the end-to-end test.

The missile struck the ship's main superstructure, as shown clearly in the shot below.

A critical design review for the air-launched JSM will be conducted this summer, with the weapon expected to become operational from around 2020. It is intended to be carried internally by the Royal Norwegian Air Force's future F-35As, or in a less stealthy configuration (which I'd suggest is probably acceptable from a healthy standoff range of about 150nm, or 277km) with up to two under each wing. Exports are also a clear target.