While Tokyo has received its first Kongsberg Joint Strike Missiles (JSMs), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters require additional software work before the weapon can be deployed.
“The launch platform for the JSM is the F-35A,” says JASDF chief of staff General Hiroaki Uchikura.
“Currently, software development on the aircraft side necessary to operate the JSM is underway. We will continue coordinating with the US government so that Japan can begin operating the JSM as soon as possible.”
Uchikura made the remarks while speaking with reporters in Tokyo, days after the JASDF announced it had received its first JSMs. The weapons were flown from Norway to Japan aboard a Boeing KC-767 tanker/transport.
Pressed on the timeframe for JSM deployment, Uchikura declined to comment, citing “relations with other countries”.
He added: “We have not yet acquired the capability to fully utilise the JSM.”
The JSM is the only internally carried, combined anti-ship and land-attack weapon currently integrated with the F-35A. Equipped with an infrared seeker, the high-subsonic missile weighs 416kg (917lb) and has a range in excess of 150nm (277km).
Integration of the JSM is tied to the F-35’s long-delayed Block 4 upgrade, which builds on the Technical Refresh 3 (TR-3) hardware and software baseline.
Norway was the first nation to deploy the JSM with its F-35As. Australia, Germany and the USA have also ordered the weapon.
