A Royal Navy frigate conducted the service’s first live launch of the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) at Norway’s Andøya test range during an exercise that marked a milestone in the United Kingdom’s effort to restore its long-range maritime attack capability.
The HMS Somerset fired the NSM during Aegir 25, a combined maritime exercise that included Norway and Poland. The launch is the result of a U.K. effort to fit the Norwegian missile across a mix of its Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers as part of the Maritime Offensive Surface Strike Program, which is intended to replace the current Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
“The NSM is one of the most advanced missiles in our naval arsenal. It will give the Royal Navy and our Allies an edge against our enemies,” Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said in a Royal Navy news release.
This test was one of many recent tests in the High North. The United States, in direct coordination with Norwegian forces, recently successfully deployed a sink exercise munition designed to interdict a naval surface vessel.
The NSM is a high-subsonic, sea-skimming anti-ship and land-attack cruise weapon developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. The NSM can operate with a high degree of autonomy and discriminate targets in cluttered environments. Its estimated range exceeds 100 nautical miles and is designed to complicate interception by shipboard defenses.
The Royal Navy said it has retrofitted the frigates HMS Portland and HMS Richmond with NSM launchers, and further installations are planned across the fleet. British officials and defense analysts say an increase in maritime threats ranging from freedom of navigation for commercial vessels to sabotage of undersea cables has increased the need for longer-range strike options.
“This milestone, achieved through our exemplary international partnership with Norway, significantly enhances our maritime deterrent and underscores the government’s dedication to investing in the technologies that will maintain Britain’s [security],” Pollard said in the Royal Navy news release.
The launch was supported by Kongsberg engineers and was carried out alongside Allied weapons firings from land-based batteries and other platforms. The Royal Navy said the exercise validates integration, training and interoperability among partners in the High North and demonstrates the rapid introduction of the NSM system into service.