Photo shows F-35 SOM-J Air-Launched Cruise Missile separation tests in wind tunnel

Turkish air-launched cruise missile is being tested for integration on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

SOM (Stand-Off Missile) is a high precision cruise missile, developed since 2006 and unveiled for the first time during the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Turkish Air Force at Izmir, in June 2011.

The SOM can be used against stationary and moving targets at a distance of over 180 kilometers.

SOM-J is a low observable SOM variant designed to fit internal weapon bay of the F-35 Lightning II jet.

Another major difference is the warhead of SOM-J which is anti-ship and semi-armour piercing type with blast/fragmentation effects on soft targets (i.e. personnel, unarmoured military vehicles, radars, buildings, etc.).

The development activities have been initiated under the contract between Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) and ROKETSAN Inc. According to this contract, TÜBİTAK SAGE has been subcontracted to perform development activities.

Based on the material provided by Arda Mevlutoglu, owner of siyahgribeyaz.com, who sent us the press releases distributed by ROKETSAN during the meeting, the platform integration activities for the F-35 have started. Among the activities that have already conducted successfully, there are the wind tunnel tests.

Finalization of complete product is planned in 2018, when SOM-J will be available to all F-35 users.

H/T Arda Mevlutoglu for the heads-up

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.