"A great power's weapon in small state format": Here is a proposal for Denmark's new offensive weapon

When the Danish defense is set to buy long-range attack weapons, as the government has declared (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/regeringen-vil-afskraekke-rusland-med-langtraekkende-praecisionsvaaben), it could very well look towards our neighbors in the north, Norway.

For the Norwegian weapons company Kongsberg has developed a missile that is among the favorites to become Denmark's next long-range precision weapon.

The missile is called Joint Strike Missile (JSM) and is developed directly for the F-35 combat aircraft.

It can be in the aircraft's weapons bay right inside the aircraft's fuselage. As long as missiles and bombs are inside the aircraft - and not mounted on wings - the F-35 is invisible on the enemy's radar. In this way, the defense can get the most out of the aircraft's capabilities.

And since Denmark already has F-35, it would be a no-brainer to buy JSM, says Tord Aslaksen, head of the combat aircraft division in the Norwegian Defense Materiel Service. It is he who has responsibility for purchasing, operation, and maintenance of combat aircraft in the Norwegian defense.

- With JSM together with F-35 you actually get a superpower weapon in small-state format.

- I think it's a really good solution for Norway, and I can't see anything better weapon we could have had to achieve long-range capacity. In that context, it's easy for me to say that I think Denmark should do the same, for I am glad that Norway has made that choice, he says.

In the clip here, you can hear Tord explain why JSM fits well with F-35:

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'Denmark is well known for capacity'

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DR News visited Norway to visit Kongsberg's factory, where JSM is produced.

The production facilities resemble most of all an operations room. The whole thing looks neat and is completely clean. Everything is optimized to produce missiles 24 hours a day, all year round.

Last summer, they opened a new missile factory in Norway, so they have been able to "multiply" their production capacity, says Ståle Mortensson, who is regional director for missile systems in Kongsberg.

Mortensson explains that they have so far sold the missile to Norway, Australia, Japan, Germany, and the United States.

The sale to the United States is particularly significant, it sounds.

- The United States is an extremely large customer, and it means that it is very likely that we will receive the necessary resources to maintain the program as long as we want it.

- The large orders we have received and expect from the United States are exactly the reason why we are establishing a completely new factory in Virginia in the United States. It also gives greater supply and delivery security, because we have more production facilities and more supply chains around the world, he says.

In addition to the five countries that have already bought the missile, Kongsberg is also in dialogue with all other countries in the F-35 cooperation. That is, Denmark as well.

If there is a determined sale on the way, Mortensson will not reveal.

- But just like many other countries have been interested in collecting information about the missile for a long time, and we have had contact both directly and through international cooperation channels, he says.

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Shoot the bucksight

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Ståle Mortensson explains that JSM is developed to be able to be used against targets with high priority in the enemy's rear. This can, for example, be missile launchers, military headquarters, or warships at sea.

- What distinguishes modern capabilities such as our missiles from the earlier generations is that they themselves can solve many of the tasks when they are first launched.

- For such missiles, there are two things that are particularly important: The ability to penetrate the enemy's defense systems, and the ability to find and hit the target on its own.

The whole idea of having a missile like JSM is, according to Tord Aslaksen, to be able to shoot the bucksight. That is, an air defense could shoot the missiles - the arrows - that must come over a country. The missile should neutralize the bucksight - the one that launches the missiles - so that there are no arrows.

- If you want to stop the threat, you have to hit the place where it springs from. Here, an airborne system with long-range missiles is ideally suited.

- F-35, especially in cooperation with other F-35 aircraft, is incredibly good at locating, detecting, and neutralizing such systems. But they need a weapon package that can help them with that, he says.

Aslaksen also points to the fact that JSM has two-way communication, so the target can be updated during the flight.

- The complete package is not found in other weapons on the market. Therefore, it is also interesting for great powers to acquire this weapon, he says with reference to the fact that the United States has bought the missile.

In the video here, you can hear DR's defense correspondent, Mads Korsager, explain how JSM is built up:

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A good news for the North and NATO

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After the Danish government held a press conference about buying attack weapons, critics have raised questions about whether - to put it mildly - they have placed the cart before the horse.

But Tord Aslaksen does not see it that way. He was glad when he heard the news, which he calls good for the common defense of the North and NATO.

- I think that the alternative - not to have anything that can affect an adversary - is much worse. Therefore, I see it as a clear advantage to have both an aircraft and a weapon that can really pose a threat to an adversary.

- After my opinion, such a combined solution is particularly suitable for defense. It's not about us being an aggressive party that attacks Russia - quite the contrary, it's about having a system that can protect us ourselves.

Denmark has bought a total of 27 F-35 combat aircraft. More may be on the way, defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V) has said. Norway has bought 52. (Photo: © Bo Amstrup, Ritzau Scanpix)

He believes that both Denmark and Norway will be able to benefit from a Danish purchase.

- If Denmark chooses to buy JSM, we have the opportunity to train together in the use of both JSM and F-35 and to draw up joint defense plans with the same weapons and tactics. This will not only strengthen Denmark's defense, but also be a clear advantage for Norway.

- At the same time, the work that Norway is already doing to develop tactics and plans for the cooperation between JSM and F-35 means that Denmark can benefit from our experience if they choose to acquire the system. In this way, we can stand even stronger together.

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'The price will appear high'

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If Denmark chooses to go with JSM and place an order with Kongsberg, Ståle Mortensson will not reveal what a missile costs. But it is "many millions" of Danish kroner per missile, he says.

- This is very advanced capabilities, so the price will appear high for most. But we think that it is worth it, precisely because it is used against advanced threats.

- If you look at how few missiles it actually takes to neutralize a modern warship, the price is actually very low.

He will not come with any guarantees for how quickly the missile can be delivered. But because Denmark is part of the F-35 cooperation, we can expect a small delay, it sounds.

- We are working on increasing production speed worldwide, and so far, no customers have been dissatisfied with the deliveries we have promised. That's how it looks to me, I can say about it.

In a written response from the Defense Ministry's Material and Procurement Service (FMI), it sounds that "the acquisition of long-range precision weapons is in the initial phase."

FMI has no comments on specific systems or suppliers.

The Defense Ministry informs DR that an investigation of the market has been initiated to find out which long-range precision weapon best suits Denmark's needs, and which can support a quick build-up of the defense's combat power.

- The defense chief will, based on market coverage, come with a military-technical recommendation, which will be handled in the defense budget negotiations, before a concrete acquisition is decided, writes the ministry.

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.