The original was taken from a colleague andrej_kraft in the USA - the third customer of JSM cruise missiles: 3.35 "lemon" apieceIn the past 2022, Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace (KDA) has achieved tremendous success with its cruise missile NSM (Naval Strike Missile), which de facto became a replacement for the Harpoon missile on surface ships around the world.
This year, the victorious march on the planet of the products of the Raytheon-Kongsberg consortium continued. On March 11, 2023, it was reported that in the 2024 fiscal year, the US Department of Defense will request $ 4.311 billion from Congress for the purchase of missiles, but on March 13, details appeared according to which the Pentagon wants to spend almost twice as much - more than 8 billion. Among other things, $161 million was requested there for the purchase of 48 JSM (Joint Strike Missile) cruise missiles for F-35 Lightning II fighter-bombers - the simplest calculation gives us $ 3.35 million per unit. And it is most likely that this is only an installation batch before the start of large-scale purchases.
The first throwing test of the JSM c F-35A of the US Air Force in February 2021 © FMANorway itself became the first customer of JSM - on June 29, 2018, the procurement agency of the Ministry of Defense FMA (Forsvarsmateriell) concluded with KDA the first contract worth 700 million kronor ($84 million) for the production of a batch of JSM, most likely pre-production for testing (84: 4 = 21).
The second in a row and the first export customer of JSM was Japan, which in November 2019 and December 2020 signed contracts with Kongsberg for 49.5 and 74.5 million dollars. accordingly. Thus, the total cost of the order amounted to 124 million dollars. Based on the above estimate of the cost of a single product at $ 3.35 million, the ordered batch of JSM for Japan can reach 37 missiles. In the fall of 2020, several reports appeared in the Japanese media from knowledgeable sources that they planned to receive the first JSM in April 2021 for testing, evaluation and the beginning of training of maintenance personnel.
On October 21, 2021, the FMA agency signed a second contract with KDA for 3.95 billion rubles . Norwegian kroner ($480 million) for the purchase of JSM cruise missiles for arming their F-35A Air Force. The contract is a framework agreement providing for the deployment of full-scale serial production at Norwegian Kongsberg enterprises and their delivery starting from 2023. Given the fact that Norway is very fond of seven-year contracts, most likely deliveries are designed for 2023-2028. The volume of the ordered batch of missiles can be estimated at 140 units at the above unit cost of 3.35 million dollars - pre-production JSM samples are clearly more expensive, but it is necessary to take into account the gradual reduction in price during mass production.
The revision of the JSM to the requirements of the Norwegian armed forces Kongsberg is carried out in cooperation with the Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense FFI (Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt). The country's Air Force plans to integrate the JSM on its F-35A in 2022-2024, completing it in 2025 with the announcement that the aircraft have achieved full combat capability FOC (Full Operational Capability).
In addition, Finland has officially announced its decision to purchase JSM for its F-35A. But the signing of firm contracts is linked to the rather distant prospect of the start of deliveries of these aircraft in 2026, so it will not soon become a fait accompli. Great interest in the purchase or deployment of licensed production of these missiles has long been demonstrated by Australia. KDA has been collaborating with BAE Systems Australia since 2015 to develop a four-channel passive radar GPS, as well as its integration on JSM in addition to thermal imaging. In 2017, the first contract for $ 17.5 million was signed, and in 2020, KDA placed an order with BAE Australia for the production of the first prototypes of such equipment. South Korea was ready to purchase the JSM, but as a reverse purchase in case Norway signed a contract for the supply of K2 Black Panther tanks. Alas, it did not work out, and how it will continue there is not yet clear.
It should be noted that so far only the F-16C/D, from which its flight tests were conducted in the USA in 2015-2018, have been fully certified for the use of JSM . The integration of the rocket with the F-35A began in July 2018, the first rocket reset without turning on the engine was made in February 2021, and the completion of the certification program is expected in 2023 simultaneously with the start of deliveries of the first production samples of the JSM and after installation on the F-35 of the next version of the Block 4 software.
On the left is the first throw test of the JSM c F-35A of the US Air Force in February 2021, on the right is the JSM test missile in its armament compartment © FMAThe development of the JSM KR in Kongsberg began 20 years ago, as a ship-to-surface version of the NSM (Naval Strike Missile) KR adapted for the F-35.
Tellingly, there were four years left before the first flight of the F-35. Currently, the Norwegian-American consortium Raytheon-Kongsberg is engaged in the project, and the JSM is the only type of long-range air-to-surface weapons that can be placed in the internal armament compartment of the F-35A/C with a starting weight of 416 kg, a length of 4.0 m, a width with folded/open wings of 0.48 /1.35 m.
At the same time, the rocket is made using low-visibility technologies, and an intelligent dual-band optical-electronic guidance system with target image memorization, an inertial-satellite correction unit, a weather sensor, and a laser altimeter allow hitting ground and sea targets with high accuracy at ranges up to 200 km in a low-altitude flight profile and up to 550 km in a combined one. It is possible to adjust the route and re-aim the missile in flight from the carrier via a closed two-way data transmission channel in the Link 16 radio network. The 226 kg armor-piercing high-explosive warhead consists of a 120 kg titanium case with a 100 kg explosive charge and a programmable fuse. Meanwhile, at present, the only potential competitor of the JSM in the arsenal of weapons of this class for the F-35 Block 4 remains the UAB/UR AGM-154C-1 JSOW from the same Raytheon.
Aviation cruise missile Kongsberg JSM (Joint Strike Missile) © Kongsberg
