Norwegian aerospace company KONGSBERG has ordered additional Passive Radio Frequency Sensors (PRS) for its Joint Strike Missile (JSM) project, BAE Systems Australia announced on Friday.
KONGSBERG tapped BAE Systems to acquire 180 additional PRS for its Joint Strike Missile (JSM) project. The order completes the first production order for 200 PRS to be delivered by BAE Systems over the past five years.
The JSM is a variant of the US Navy’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM). Both are used for precision strikes against sea and land targets.
“Achieving this major milestone in the JSM program provides an excellent example of how KONGSBERG, an international guided weapons provider and BAE Systems Australia, have successfully established an effective working relationship that supports design, development, integration and production activities in the field of guided weapons,” BAE Systems Australia Managing Director Defence Delivery Andrew Gresham said.
The company touts its history with the Australian Defence Force and local Australian industries: “The work that we are doing with BAE Systems Australia on JSM continues to build upon KONGSBERG’s legacy of collaboration with Australian companies on guided weapon production that commenced 25 years ago with the Australian manufacture of Penguin missile components,” Kongsberg Defence Australia’s General Manager John Fry said.
KONGSBERG JSM
To enable the JSM to survive against modern air defense systems, passive radio frequency sensors are integrated into the missile, allowing it to locate targets based on their electronic signature while making it extremely difficult to detect.
According to BAE Systems, JSM is the only anti-ship cruise missile that can be carried internally within the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It features high subsonic speed (0.7 – 0.95 Mach), weighs 407 kg (897 lbs), and is 4 m (157 in) long.
The JSM is also a candidate missile for the Royal Australian Navy’s Project SEA 1300, which is part of the Australian government’s 24 billion Australian dollar ($19 billion) investment in maritime weapons over the next two decades.