©Filip Andrejevic via Unsplash
Belgian Defense has decided to heavily invest. Belgium will spend nearly 700 million euros on new cruise missiles for F-35s and drones.
Belgium is ordering nearly 700 million euros worth of new cruise missiles for its future Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighters. This was announced on Friday by the Belgian Defense Ministry and confirmed in De Tijd and L'Echo.
The Belgians are investing in AGM-184 JSM cruise missiles, a strategic weapons system being developed in Norway by Kongsberg Gruppen in cooperation with U.S. RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon. The missiles can be fired from the air and hit targets on land or sea up to 350 kilometers away. The F-35s can also carry two internally without losing their stealth.
Because this is sensitive military technology, the Defense Department does not want to disclose exact numbers or price per missile. According to US reports, the cost in the US military is around 2.75 million euros each. It's therefore essential that this be a robust and cost-effective system, suitable for precise large-scale applications.
The cruise missiles are part of a broader Belgian modernization of unmanned aircraft armament. Belgium also plans to deploy the missiles later on SkyGuardian drones, which the military plans to use to further expand its operational strike force. In addition, to arm the drones, 16 Brimstone missiles were ordered for 10 million euros and 120 Hellfire missiles for 30 million dollars.
With these purchases, Belgium is opting for a mix of systems that are both flexibly deployable and have a long range.
©Filip Andrejevic via Unsplash