Kongsberg Gruppen (Kongsberg) has signed a contract with the Norwegian Defense Procurement Division for the first phase in the development of the Joint Strike Missile (JSM).
The contract has a financial framework of MNOK 166, and is scheduled for completion within 18 months.
The Joint Strike Missile will be a newly-developed anti-surface warfare and land attack missile that will be adapted to meet an uncovered operational need on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) supplied by the US.
As the missile will also lend itself to deployment on other types of aircraft, Kongsberg sees a significant potential for the later phases of the F-35 program.
As part of the JSM development program, the Group will be developing and testing new operative functions that can be used later to upgrade Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM).
The NSM is now in production for the Armed Forces of Poland and Norway.
Kongsberg is an international, knowledge-based group with more than 5200 employees in more than 25 countries. The Group delivers high-technology systems to customers engaged in offshore oil and gas production, the merchant marine, and the defense and aerospace industries. Kongsberg is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and posted operating revenues of NOK 11 billion in 2008.
