Lockheed Martin and Roketsan have agreed to collaborate on the Turkish company's stand-off cruise missile for use on the F-35 Lightning II fighter.

The SOM-J is an autonomous, long-range, low-observable, all-weather, precision air-to-surface cruise missile. A variant of the system has been designed for internal carriage on the F-35 aircraft.

The missile can also be carried externally on other types of aircraft.

Under a teaming agreement announced earlier this week, the two companies will jointly develop, produce, market and support SOM-J.

"Lockheed Martin has a long history of partnership with the Republic of Turkey, and we look forward to working closely with Roketsan on this very important project," Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Executive Vice President Rick Edwards said. "SOM-J will provide the F-35 and other aircraft an exceptional capability to meet the most challenging mission requirements.

"We look forward to combining the skills and know-how of our two great companies to produce a world-class system to meet customers' expanding needs for long-range, survivable cruise missile technology."

Lockheed Martin is the principal contractor for the F-35 fighter.

"At Roketsan, we believe this teaming will increase the attention on SOM-J and present a superior solution to fulfill the requirements of anti-surface warfare capabilities on the F-35 aircraft," Roketsan Chairman of the Board Eyup Kaptan said. "We value our partnership with Lockheed Martin and look forward to additional business opportunities in the future."