Füze Sistemleri TURKISH DEFENSE INDUSTRY

Canada picks Kongsberg’s Joint Strike Missile for its F-35 fleet

Canada has chosen the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) from Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace as the air-launched strike weapon for its incoming fleet of F-35A Lightning II fighters, becoming the sixth nation to field the missile.

The acquisition, valued at roughly C$800 million (about US$564 million), was unveiled by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the NATO Summit hosted in Ankara. Kongsberg had first flagged the order in late June.

What the deal covers

The JSM is the only long-range cruise missile designed to fit inside the F-35’s internal weapons bay, allowing the aircraft to carry it without compromising its low-observable signature. Canada signed a roughly C$19 billion contract in 2023 for 88 F-35A jets, with first deliveries beginning in 2026 and full operational capability expected in the early 2030s. The missile buy is timed to build Royal Canadian Air Force strike capacity in step with that fielding schedule.

A stealth-compatible strike weapon

Developed by Kongsberg and refined for modern fighters, the JSM is a precision cruise missile effective against both land and maritime targets. The four-metre weapon weighs about 416 kilograms, carries a 118-kilogram warhead and reaches ranges of up to 350 kilometres at high subsonic speed. A sea-skimming flight profile, terrain-following guidance and a passive infrared seeker let it prosecute targets shielded by dense air defences, making it a credible option for both coastal defence and sea-control missions.

Why it matters

The JSM is already in service or on order with Norway, Japan, Australia, the United States and Germany. Canada’s decision pushes the weapon closer to becoming a shared standoff standard across the F-35 community, a convergence that strengthens logistics and interoperability among allied air forces.

That the announcement came at the Ankara summit was itself telling. Meeting under a sharpened threat picture, allies used the gathering to accelerate spending and procurement, and Ottawa’s cruise-missile choice offered one concrete example of that shift.