Lockheed Martin announces Roketsan teaming on new F-35 standoff missile
Marina Malenic, Washington, DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
22 October 2014
Artist's rendering of an F-35A with Turkish markings. Turkish industry is developing a new SOM for the aircraft along with F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin. Source: Lockheed Martin
Key Points
Lockheed Martin and Roketsan have agreed to collaborate to develop a derivative of Turkey's standoff cruise missile for internal carriage on the F-35
The SOM-J is scheduled for integration onto the F-35's Block IV version
Lockheed Martin and Roketsan have signed an agreement to develop a 1,000-lb-class air-to-surface standoff cruise missile for internal carriage on the stealthy Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, the companies announced on 22 October.
The SOM-J will be co-developed and co-produced by Turkey's Roketsan and the United States' Lockheed Martin for integration onto the Turkish Air Force (TAF) F-35, a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman told IHS Jane's . She described the SOM-J as an "autonomous, long-range, low-observable, all-weather, precision air-to-surface cruise missile".
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Executive vice-president Rick Edwards and Roketsan chairman of the board Eyüp Kaptan signed the standoff missile (SOM) teaming agreement, the companies said in a statement.
The SOM-J will be based on "various aspects" of the 2,000-lb Roketsan SOM, according to the Lockheed Martin spokeswoman. Rocketsan in May 2013 said that it was producing the baseline SOM for the TAF.
Tübitak-SAGE, another Turkish aerospace company, began development of the SOM in 2006 to provide the TAF with a long-range (more than 180 km) precision strike capability against high-value targets, such as command centres and air-defence facilities. Moreover, Roketsan has stated that the SOM has a moving target capability and can also be used against naval targets.
Roketsan was responsible for platform integration and international marketing of the SOM, while Tübitak-SAGE was the overall design authority developer. The SOM completed flight trials that saw the weapon integrated with a TAF upgraded F-4E Phantom 2020 strike aircraft.
Aside from SOM-J, Kongsberg's Joint Strike Missile (JSM) was the other cruise missile chosen for integration onto the F-35's Block IV.
The JSM, a maritime-focused weapon also in the 1,000-lb class and intended for internal F-35 carriage, is a derivative of Norway's next-generation anti-ship missile and is designed for anti-surface warfare and naval fire support missions in sea, littoral, and land environments.
http://www.janes.com/article/44921/lockheed-martin-announces-roketsan-teaming-on-new-f-35-standoff-missile