Germany has agreed to acquire Joint Strike Missiles from Norway under a new bilateral defense cooperation agreement signed on Wednesday. The deal paves the way for the Norwegian government to enter into a contract with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to deliver the precision-guided missiles, which are estimated to cost $646.1 million.
Oslo said the advanced long-range munitions will be fitted onto Germany’s incoming fleet of 35 F-35A fighters, with the configuration matching those already used by the Norwegian military.
Norwegian Defence Minister Tore Sandvik, who said the partnership reflects deepening NATO ties between the two countries, described the JSM as a new missile that “can defeat well-defended sea and land targets at long range with high precision, providing superior military capability.”
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who co-signed the agreement with Sandvik on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in The Hague, said the deal is only one component of the two countries’ “wide-ranging and reliable partnership.” Germany becomes the fifth country to procure the JSM, joining Norway, the United States, Japan and Australia.
Last month, Kongsberg delivered new JSM units to the Norwegian Armed Forces for F-35 integration under a previously awarded domestic contract. Earlier, the missile maker also secured a fourth contract with Japan worth over $170 million and a $96 million deal with Australia, which will receive the weapons from a new Kongsberg manufacturing site in New South Wales.