General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) and Norwegian Kongsberg Gruppen have completed a System Requirements Review and a Preliminary Design Review for the integration of the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) onto the MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicle.
GA-ASI states that the reviews were conducted in Kongsberg (Norway) on 30 June. The integration work is a jointly funded project by the two companies.
The JSM is a fifth-generation strike missile designed for attacks against high-priority targets. The MQ-9B is a long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle capable of conducting missions over land and at sea, and is produced in the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian variants.
"We see the value JSM brings to our MQ-9B platform. This integration work demonstrates how industry can effectively collaborate to integrate new capabilities and rapidly make them available to our armed forces," said Niki Johnson, Vice President of International Business Development and Government Affairs at GA-ASI.
"Having JSM integrated on an unmanned aerial platform, the MQ-9B, enables a strike mission capability that can be employed alongside or independently of manned aircraft. This is an operational capability we are seeing increased interest in across the defence sector," said Jens Gjestvang, Senior Vice President of Missiles and Aerostructures at Kongsberg.
The MQ-9B is operated by the British Royal Air Force, the Belgian defence forces, and the Japanese Coast Guard. The unmanned aerial vehicle has also been selected by Canada, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Qatar, Taiwan, India, and the United States Air Force in support of special operations command. Kongsberg's JSM has, as NDS previously reported, so far been selected by six countries, including Norway.