OSLO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Australia has agreed to finance part of the development of Norwegian weapons maker Kongsberg Gruppen's KOG.OL Joint Strike Missile, Norway's Defence Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
"If Australia later decides to procure the JSM (the Joint Strike Missile), then Norway and Australia will share the cost of integrating the JSM on the F-35," it said.
The long range missile is being tailor-made to fit Lockheed Martin's LMT.N F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which both countries have placed orders for.
"Even if this so far doesn't change our costs related to developing and integrating the JSM on the F-35, it nonetheless ensures that we will get even more in return for our own investment in the missile," the Norwegian Minister of Defence, Ine Eriksen Søreide, said in the statement.