Kongsberg has made its show debut at Japan Aerospace, promoting its Joint Strike Missile (JSM) for use by the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF).
Hans Kongelf, vice president of missile systems at the Norwegian company, says Kongsberg is pitching the JSM to all partner nations and buyers of the Lockheed Martin F-35, which can accommodate two JSMs internally.
Tokyo has orders for 42 F-35s, with the type to replace its McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms.
Kongelf also sees a secondary opportunity for the JSM aboard Tokyo’s fleet of Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
Kongelf did not discuss Japanese requirements specifically, but says the Kongsberg is well suited to attacking modern warships, which feature three layers of defensive systems: long-range missiles, short-range missiles, and rapid fire cannons.
To evade the first two threats, the IR-homing, high subsonic JSM features low-observable characteristics and a sea-skimming flight profile. To defeat the last obstacle, it flies an erratic flight profile in the seconds before impact, throwing off guns’ ability to lead the missile effectively.
He adds that the weapon’s 120kg warhead all but guarantees a mission kill.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
