Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Turkish company Roketsan have agreed to cooperatively develop a next-generation air-to-surface missile for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The so-called SOM-J is a new standoff cruise missile that will be designed to fit in the F-35’s internal weapons bay, according to Lockheed Martin. Integration is scheduled to occur as part of the Block 4 upgrades to the aircraft, which should begin in the 2020s.
Initial live flight testing will be conducted with a Turkish F-16. The agreement, announced Sept. 16, also allows for other international F-35 customers to purchase the missile.
The SOM system is an autonomous, long-range, low-observable, all-weather, precision air-to-surface cruise missile. The SOM-J variant is tailored for internal carriage on the F-35 aircraft. The companies will jointly develop, produce, market and support SOM-J for internal carriage on the F-35 aircraft or external carriage on other aircraft.
The missile is a smaller version of the subsonic standoff missile (SOM) that entered service with the Turkish Air Force in 2011. The original SOM featured a 500-pound warhead and an effective range of farther than 100 nautical miles.
“SOM-J integration on the F-35 will enable pilots to engage targets from long ranges while maintaining the aircraft’s critical stealth capabilities,” Frank St. John, vice president at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a statement.
SOM-J uses GPS as its primary guidance system and also features inertial, terrain-referenced and image-based navigation systems. It also carries an imaging infrared seeker.
“This contract signing, and subsequent approval of the Technical Assistance Agreement, continues our strong relationship with Lockheed Martin,” Emin Alpman, chairman of the board at Roketsan, said in a statement. “Offering SOM-J to the international F-35 marketplace will bring critical business to Turkey and provide an important capability to allied nations.”