The German government has decided to purchase the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) air-to-ground missile for its F-35 fighter jets. The agreement is expected to be worth around NOK 6.5 billion for the Norwegian defense company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace as the supplier, as the company writes in a press release. The corresponding 25 million euro bill was discussed in the Bundestag yesterday.
As stated in the budget committee's submission, it concerned the procurement of the missile as part of a cooperation with the Kingdom of Norway and the granting of an over-scheduled commitment authorization totaling 478.656 million euros.
The Joint Strike Missile is an air-to-ground missile weighing around 400 kg that can also be carried in the internal weapon bays of the F-35. The manufacturer gives the range as more than 350 km.
According to the Kongsberg announcement, the planned procurement is a government deal between Norway and Germany as part of the cooperation between the two nations in the field of naval defense equipment. According to the agreement, the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency (NDMA) will act as the contracting party.
The intergovernmental agreement for the German procurement of the JSM was approved by the Bundestag on June 4. According to the press release, negotiations are still ongoing. It is expected that the contract will be signed by the end of the first half of 2025.
Alongside Norway, Japan, Australia and the USA, Germany will be the fifth country to opt for the JSM.
"We are delighted that Germany has become the fifth nation to select the JSM for its F-35 fleet," said Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, in the press release. "The JSM's navigation system, flight profile and automatic target recognition technology make it an excellent addition to the F-35."
Lars Hoffmann
https://www.hartpunkt.de/deutschland-will-joint-strike-missiles-fuer-f-35-bei-kongsberg-kaufen/
