The 416th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, Calif., is leading the testing of the F-35’s Joint Strike Missile for various international partner nations, according to a press release. The JSM, which makes use of stealth technology and can be used against targets at sea or on land, is being tested on F-16s first. Norway and Australia are among the nations participating in the testing. “What we’re doing is conducting risk-mitigation testing with the F-16 before the JSM is integrated on the F-35,” said James Cook, the 416th FLTS JSM program manager, according to the release. The team conducts live missile tests over the Utah Test and Training Range, and the testing work with foreign partners is part of the squadron’s European Participating Air Force Program. (See also: Joint Strike Missile’s First Shot.)
After years of describing to lawmakers and Pentagon leaders the nature of that threat and the key role spacepower plays in deterring conflict in the domain and enabling the rest of the joint force, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told reporters during AFA’s Warfare Symposium here that the message appears to…