During Indo Pacific 2023 Kongsberg Defence Australia’s (KDA) Managing Director, John Fry, told Naval News that the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) program in Australia is “progressing well” and is “on track” to deliver NSMs to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) next year.
In 2022 Kongsberg Defence Australia was awarded a contract as part of Project SEA 1300 to replace the RGM-84 Block II Harpoon aboard the RAN’s Anzac class frigates and Hobart class destroyers. Kongsberg Defence Australia’s ambitions, however, go beyond the current fleet and stretch into the future force.
Naval News understands that the missiles will also equip the RANs new Hunter class frigates and Fry said that he was “hopeful” that there would be “more opportunities for NSM on additional platforms” following release of the surface fleet review next year.
This likely includes not just so-called “Tier 2” combatants, but also other existing vessels. During Indo Pacific 2023, Austal showcased an Evolved Cape class patrol boat modified with four NSMs while documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws in 2022 reveal that the RAN has examined the possibility of fitting the missiles to the Arafura class offshore patrol vessels.
Kongsberg Defence Australia is also pitching the missile, mounted on a Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV) chassis, to the Australian Army as part of the service’s effort to “expand and accelerate” its fielding of land-based maritime strike capabilities. Strikemaster, as the firm calls it, is a “great option” to “to do something quite quickly” according to Fry.
This, he said, stems from the fact that the three core components of Strikemaster are already in service, or are about to enter service, with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). These include NSM itself, Bushmaster, and the same locally produced fire control architecture as NASAMS.
The company’s pitch, Fry said, is made even stronger because of the work that local companies are already undertaking on the NSM program. This includes the local manufacture of Launch Ramp Systems and various machined components.
There is also the “opportunity”, according to Fry, for the missile to eventually be produced locally as part of the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise (GWEO) alongside the related Joint Strike Missile (JSM). This, however, would require sufficient domestic demand in Australia to justify the investment. Fry told Naval News that he thinks it can be achieved so long as both an NSM-based land-based maritime strike capability and the proliferation of NSM through the future fleet is pursued.
Kongsberg Defence Australia is not currently a GWEO partner, however, Raytheon Australiais one of two strategic partners alongside Lockheed Martin Australia. Together Kongsberg and Raytheon developed the JSM, while Kongsberg Defence Australia is working with Raytheon Australia to deliver NASAMS to the Australian Army.
