WASHINGTON — The head of the F-35 joint program office praised on Friday a pair of munitions developed by Norway, despite reluctance from the Pentagon to purchase the weaponry.
Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan praised the Joint Strike Missile (JSM), developed by Kongsberg, and the Nammo-designed APEX ammunition during a one-day summit here that was organized to support the US-Norwegian military alliance.
During his speech, the general highlighted the work being put in by the Norwegian government to prep the weaponry for certification on F-35s.
"What the Norwegian government is doing today is getting that missile ready to be integrated on an F-35," Bogdan said. "And they're putting a lot of time, energy and money into insuring that weapon system [so] when it comes time to get on the F-35, it will be much easier and we can do it much sooner."
The often outspoken head of the program office then contrasted the work by Norway to other countries developing weapons for the fifth-gen fighter.
"I wish that were the case with some of the other partner weapons we are going to try and put on this airplane, but it's not," he said. "Those weapons are still not being developed and are not as mature as we'd like them to be. Norway is doing exactly the right thing to go on the F-35.
"And I'm pretty convinced in my own mind that when that weapon does get on the F-35 and it gets there quicker than most others, folks are going to look and say 'hmm maybe I should reassess what I need in the future.'"
That last part was music to the ears of the audience, which was heavy with representatives from a Norwegian military industry that desperately wants to get the JSM on the US fleet of F-35s, by far the largest buy of any single country.
Kongsberg is teamed with Raytheon to push the JSM and its cousin, the Naval Strike Missile, in the US.
After his speech, Bogdan told Defense News the Norwegian designs "were pretty smart" and called APEX "a pretty impressive weapon."
The APEX, or Armor Piecing Explosive, has faced concerns from the Air Force, which will operate the F-35A, because it is an explosive round. Bogdan, however, said he believed the service would come around to its use once the ammunition has been used by Norwegian forces.
"They want to see us qualify APEX on the airplane, use it and see how effective it is, and then they may look at what their options are," Bogdan said. "I understand that. They are in a wait and see mode, and until the airplane has that weapon on there, we can show how effective it can be, I wouldn't expect the Air Force to change."
Both the Marines and Navy, which will operate the F-35B and F-35C models, have expressed interest in APEX as well, Bogdan said.
