Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile can hit ships and land based targets out to a range of 100 nautical miles. (Kongsberg)
BELFAST — The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) has signed off on acquiring a critical new anti-ship missile for Royal Navy Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers.
Both sets of ships are to be equipped with Norwegian manufacturer Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM), with a first installation to occur in just over 12 months.
The MoD made the announcement on Nov. 23 explaining in a press release that a total of 11 ships would receive the weapon, due to replace Harpoon Block 1C surface-to-surface munitions.
It declined to share a contract value for the order or state how many missiles are being purchased, with Kongsberg similarly stating in a statement on the same day that it “cannot provide any further comment on the potential size of this contract.”
The fifth-generation subsonic weapon measures close to four meters long, uses integrated sensors and autonomous targeting recognition for long-range precision strikes against ships and land based targets at a range beyond 100 nautical miles, according to the MoD. Additionally, Kongsberg company literature describes the weapon’s airframe design and high thrust to weight ratio providing it with “extremely good manoeuvrability.”
NSM will serve as an interim solution for the Type 23 frigates until 2028, the timeframe set for availability of the Anglo-French Future Cruise Anti-Ship Weapon (FCASW), which will also be equipped on Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets.
The French and UK governments signed an agreement in February 2022 to launch the “preparation works” phase of FCASW which European weapons supplier MBDA defines as an assessment of “two complementary missile concepts” divided between a subsonic low observable concept and a supersonic weapon.
The attempt to procure an anti-ship weapon weapon was, until this point, one marred by controversy and questionable planning on the MoD’s behalf, including an aborted tender process that saw industry competitors informed in February 2022 that the Interim Surface-to-Surface Guided Weapon (I-SSGW) competition, originally intended to source a Harpoon successor, was to be cancelled, per Janes.
Reports then emerged in July 2022 that rather than issue a competitive tender a negotiation between the MoD, Kongsberg and Raytheon had started.
The decision to select the NSM looks to have been largely dictated by cost, and less so on range. By comparison, Lockheed Martin’s Long Range Anti Ship Missile, on offer as part of I-SSGW, can reach a range 269 nautical miles further than NSM.
The Kongsberg weapon has previously been selected by the US Navy for the service’s Over-The-Horizon Weapon System (OTH WS) acquisition and ordered by Spain to equip F-100 and F-110 frigates. Other customers include Australia, Canada, Germany, Denmark and Norway.
The latest Royal Navy procurement came less than a week after it decided to invest heavily on another tranche of Type 26 Frigates and support ships.
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