Lockheed Martin and Turkish missile maker Roketsan signed a contract to cooperatively develop the SOM-J mid-range cruise missile for integr...
Lockheed Martin and Turkish missile maker Roketsan signed a contract to cooperatively develop the SOM-J mid-range cruise missile for integration into the F-35 internal weapons bay.
The new generation SOM-J air-to-surface standoff cruise missile is designed to destroy heavily defended targets including SAM sites with superior precision.
The contract enables the companies to move forward with their Technical Assistance Agreement, making the SOM-J missile available to international customers.
SOM-J integration into the F-35 is scheduled for Block 4. Early live flight testing will be conducted on Turkish F-16s in 2017.
SOM missile development began in 2006 and entered service with the Turkish Air Force in 2011. SOM-J is a smaller version of the subsonic SOM missile, which employs a 500-pound warhead and has a required range of more than 100 nautical miles.
The SOM-J missile uses Global Positioning System as its primary guidance and is aided by inertial, terrain-referenced and image-based navigation systems, as well as an imaging infrared seeker.
