The milestone comes just weeks before the Harpoon Block 1C anti-ship missile is retired from RN service. A total of 11 ships – Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers – are planned to be outfitted with NSM under what is called the Maritime Offensive Surface Strike program.
The UK Ministry of Defence announced in November 2022 that it would procure NSM from Norway through a government-to-government sale in order to replace Harpoon, which is being retired at the end of 2023. It stated at the time that NSM would “be fitted to three vessels at pace and will be ready for operations onboard the first Royal Navy vessel in a little over 12 months”.
HMS Somerset was refitted with NSM launch cradles and firing equipment earlier this year. The eight NSM missiles themselves were embarked in the ship at Haakonsvern naval base, Bergen, earlier this month. Somerset returned to her homeport of Devonport on 18 December.
The RN told Naval News: “HMS Somerset has received the Royal Navy’s first delivery of the Naval Strike Missile, reaching IOC with the weapon system, and marking a new chapter in the surface fleet’s offensive capability. This milestone ensures the Navy continues to have a surface strike capability beyond the Harpoon out of service date.”
“The completion of a comprehensive trials package will culminate in a live firing and full operational acceptance in 2024.”
The Naval Strike Missile is a long-range, precision strike weapon designed to prosecute targets at ranges in excess of 100 nautical miles. It uses inertial, GPS and terrain-reference navigation and imaging infrared homing (with a target database aboard the missile). The airframe design and the high thrust-to-weight ratio give the NSM extremely good maneuverability. The missile is completely passive and has proven its excellent sea-skimming capabilities and with its advanced terminal maneuvers, it will survive the enemy air defenses. The Autonomous Target Recognition function of the seeker ensures that the correct target is detected, recognized, and hit, at sea or on land.
Latvia is the latest NATO country to join the “NSM club”. The anti-ship missile has been selected so far by the navies of Norway, Poland, Malaysia, Germany, United States (for both the US Navy and USMC), Romania, Canada, Australia, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium.
This success prompted Kongsberg to increase its production capacity for the missile. Here is our recent video coverage on this topic:
