Japan’s Lockheed Martin F-35As are poised to get a key strike capability with the delivery of its first Joint Strike Missile (JSM) weapons.
According to the Japan Air Self Defense-Force (JASDF), the first JSMs were handed over during a ceremony in Norway on 6 March.
The JASDF dispatched a Boeing KC-46A tanker transport to Norway to collect an unspecified number of the weapons.
The JASDF specifies that the weapon will equip its F-35As, which can carry two JSMs internally.
The JASDF makes no mention of whether the JSM will equip its F-35Bs. The weapons bays F-35B, the short take-off and vertical landing variant of the F-35, are too short to accommodate the JSM.
A separate statement from Japan’s embassy in Oslo confirmed that Tokyo’s ambassador attended the delivery event.
Reports suggest that the weapons are considerably delayed: Kongsberg first announced Tokyo’s JSM order in March 2019, with subsequent orders in recent years.
The F-35 can carry two JSMs internally. At the Japan Aerospace show in 2016, the company told FlightGlobal that the weapon can also be adapted for the Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
According to Kongsberg, the JSM is a high-subsonic, long-range missile with a range over 300nm (350km). The weapon can strike both land and sea targets and employs passive sensing, low-altitude sea skimming, and terrain-following flight to improve survivability.
