WASHINGTON — A Joint Strike Missile, fired from an F-16 Fighting Falcon, successfully struck its target during a July 16 test at the Utah Test and Training Range. According to Norway’s Ministry of Defence, the missile changed its course in flight to avoid a decoy target before scoring the hit.
Co-developed by Norwegian firm Kongsberg and American company Raytheon, the missile is being developed for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but initial integration tests are being conducted on the F-16.
“JSM demonstrated its remarkable ability to recognize and destroy specific targets in challenging flight conditions,” said Mike Jarrett, Raytheon air warfare systems vice president. “This test signaled the completion of an important phase of development, and showed promising progress for this missile to outpace some of today’s toughest defense systems.”
The JSM is a fifth-generation long-range, anti-ship and land-attack cruise missile that employs an imaging infrared seeker that enables autonomous target recognition, and a two-way data link to power target-update, retargeting and mission-abort capabilities.
Based on Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile, the JSM is the only cruise missile currently scheduled for integration onto the F-35, which carries the munition in its internal weapons bay.
Daniel Cebul is an editorial fellow and general assignments writer for Defense News, C4ISRNET, Fifth Domain and Federal Times.
