The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an
anti-ship and
land-attack missile
A land-attack missile (LAM) is a naval surface-to-surface missile that is capable of effectively attacking targets ashore, unlike specialized anti-ship missiles, which are optimized for striking other ships. Some dual-role missiles are suitable ...
developed by the Norwegian company
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is one of three business units of Kongsberg Gruppen (KONGSBERG) of Norway and the supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and weapon ...
(KDA).
The original
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
name was Nytt sjømålsmissil (literally ''New sea target missile'', indicating that it is the successor of the
Penguin missile
The Penguin anti-ship missile, designated AGM-119 by the U.S. military, is a Norwegian passive IR seeker-based short-to-medium range anti-ship guided missile, designed for naval use.
Overview
Penguin was originally developed in a collaboratio ...
). The English marketing name Naval Strike Missile was adopted later. According to Kongsberg the NSM/JSM is selected by Norway, Poland, Malaysia, Germany, the United States (as RGM-184), Japan, Romania, Canada, Australia and Spain as of 2022.
The
Joint Strike Missile
The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is a multi-role, air-launched missile under development by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) and American company Raytheon Missiles & Defense. The JSM is derived from the Naval Strike Missile. ...
(JSM) is a multi-role air-launched version of the NSM currently in development.
Development
The Naval Strike Missile's initial serial production contract was signed in June 2007. It has been chosen by the
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...
for its s and s. In December 2008 the NSM was selected by the
Polish Navy, which ordered fifty land-based missiles (including two for testing) in deals made in 2008 and 2011, with delivery planned for 2013–2016. The final milestone was completed in June 2011 with tests at
Point Mugu
Point Mugu (, Chumash: ''Muwu'') is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term ...
. On 12 April 2011, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced phase 2 of development.
On October 10, 2012, the Royal Norwegian Navy fired an NSM for the first time. The vessel in question was the
HNoMS ''Glimt'', a ''Skjold''-class patrol boat. On Wednesday, June 5, 2013, the Royal Norwegian Navy made the first test firing of an NSM missile carrying a live warhead against a target vessel. The decommissioned
HNoMS ''Trondheim'' was hit and the munition functioned as intended.
In June 2013 Poland completed the Coastal Missile Division equipped with 12 NSMs and 23 vehicles on
Jelcz
Jelcz (pronounced like ''Yelch'' after the town of the same name) is a Polish brand of trucks, military vehicles, buses and trolley buses produced by ''Zakłady Samochodowe Jelcz''/''Jelczańskie Zakłady Samochodowe'', with both names roughly ...
chassis (including 6 launchers, 2 TRS-15C radars, 6 fire control vehicles, and 3 command vehicles). Ultimately, the Coastal Missile Division will be equipped with 12 launchers carrying 4 missiles each for a total of 48 missiles. In December 2014 Poland ordered a second batch of launchers and missiles to equip a Naval Strike Missile battalion.
In late July 2014, the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
confirmed that the NSM would be tested aboard the
littoral combat ship
The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...
. The test occurred successfully on 24 September 2014. Kongsberg and
Raytheon
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
teamed to pitch the NSM to equip the LCS as its over-the-horizon anti-ship missile in 2015. By May 2017, the extended-range
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
RGM-84 Harpoon
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile
manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Mi ...
and
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
LRASM
The AGM-158C LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) is a stealthy anti-ship cruise missile developed for the United States Air Force and United States Navy by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The LRASM was intended to pione ...
had been withdrawn from the Navy's Over-the-Horizon Weapon System (OTH-WS) competition, leaving the NSM as the only remaining contender. On 31 May 2018, the Navy officially selected the NSM to serve as the LCS' OTH anti-ship weapon. The $14.8 million initial contract award to Raytheon calls for the delivery of Kongsberg-designed "encanistered missiles loaded into launching mechanisms; and a single fire control suite,” and buys about a dozen missiles; the entire contract value could grow to $847.6 million if all contract options are exercised.
[Raytheon Awarded LCS Over-the-Horizon Anti-Surface Weapon Contract; Deal Could be Worth $848M](_blank)
''USNI News''. 31 May 2018. The Navy plans to deploy the NSM in late 2019. The NSM will be designated as the RGM-184A in US service.
During RIMPAC 2014 the frigate ''Fridtjof Nansen'' made a successful firing of the NSM during a
SINKEX
A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used as a seaborne target for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing. Targets may be used with the intention of testing effectiveness of specific types of ammunit ...
, with the missile impacting and detonating as designed.
In the LIMA exhibition 2015, Malaysia announced that the Naval Strike Missile had won the contract to fulfil the
Royal Malaysian Navy
The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia; TLDM; Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defense operations. RMN's area of o ...
's
''Maharaja Lela''-class's anti-ship missile requirement.
In February 2017, the Norwegian government announced that the
German Navy
The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
will acquire "a significant amount" of Naval Strike Missiles under a deal valued at "more than 10 billion
NOK
Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site.
Archaeology
The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...
".
During RIMPAC 2018,
USARPAC fired a Naval Strike Missile from the shore to sink a ship.
In October 2019 the
USS ''Gabrielle Giffords'' fired off a Naval Strike Missile at a surplus US Navy frigate,
USS ''Ford'', which was towed close to Guam, in the Pacific, to act as a target in a SINKEX.
![NMESIS launcher](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/NMESIS_launcher.jpg)
The NSM is to be used by the
U.S. Marine Corps as part of the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), which places an NSM launcher unit on an
unmanned
An uncrewed vehicle or unmanned vehicle is a vehicle without a person on board. Uncrewed vehicles can either be under telerobotic control—remote controlled or remote guided vehicles—or they can be autonomously controlled—autonomous vehicl ...
JLTV
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is a United States military (specifically U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps) and United States Special Operations Command program to partially replace the Humvee fleet with a family of more survivable vehicles ...
-based mobile launch platform to enable the Marines to fire anti-ship missiles from land.
Design and features
The state-of-the-art design and use of
composite material
A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...
s is meant to give the missile sophisticated
stealth capabilities. The missile will weigh slightly more than and have a range of more than . NSM is designed for
littoral
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...
waters ("
brown water
Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water.
Definitions
The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings ha ...
") as well as for open sea ("
green and blue water") scenarios. The usage of a high strength titanium alloy blast/fragmentation warhead from
TDW
TDW (Gesellschaft für verteidigungstechnische Wirksysteme mbH) is the European leader in the development and manufacture of warheads for guided weapons. The company was founded in 1994 and has 130 employees based in Schrobenhausen, Germany. TD ...
is in line with the modern lightweight design and features insensitive high-explosive. Warhead initiation is by a void-sensing Programmable Intelligent Multi-Purpose Fuze designed to optimise effect against hard targets.
Like its Penguin predecessor, NSM is able to fly over and around landmasses, travel in
sea skim mode, and then make random manoeuvres in the terminal phase, making it harder to stop by enemy
countermeasure
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
s. While the Penguin is a yaw-to-turn missile, NSM is based on bank-to-turn flight (see
Yaw (flight)
An aircraft in flight is free to rotate in three dimensions: '' yaw'', nose left or right about an axis running up and down; ''pitch'', nose up or down about an axis running from wing to wing; and ''roll'', rotation about an axis running from ...
and
flight control
A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft e ...
). In 2016, it was confirmed by the Royal Norwegian Navy that NSM also can attack land targets.
The target selection technology provides NSM with a capacity for independent detection, recognition, and discrimination of targets at sea or on the coast. This is possible by the combination of an
imaging infrared
Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...
(IIR) seeker and an onboard target database. NSM is able to navigate by
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
,
inertial
In classical physics and special relativity, an inertial frame of reference (also called inertial reference frame, inertial frame, inertial space, or Galilean reference frame) is a frame of reference that is not undergoing any acceleration. ...
and
terrain reference systems.
After being launched into the air by a solid
rocket booster
A booster rocket (or engine) is either the first stage of a multistage launch vehicle, or else a shorter-burning rocket used in parallel with longer-burning sustainer rockets to augment the space vehicle's takeoff thrust and payload capability ...
which is
jettisoned upon burning out, the missile is propelled to its target in high subsonic speed by a
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
sustainer engine—leaving the 125 kg multi-purpose blast/fragmentation
warhead
A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
* Explosiv ...
to do its work, which in case of a ship target means impacting the ship at or near the water line.
An NSM coastal battery consists of three missile launch vehicles, one battery command vehicle, three combat command vehicles, one mobile communication center, one mobile radar vehicle with TRS-15C radar, one transport and loading vehicle, and one mobile workshop vehicle. Each MLV carries 4 missiles and can be connected to the CCV by optical fiber or radio up to away; up to 6 launchers with 24 missiles can be netted together at once. When installed on ships, NSMs can be deck-mounted in packs of one, two, three, four, or six launchers. Total installation weight, including electronics and cabling, is for 4 launchers, for 8 launchers, and for 12 launchers.
Operators
Current operators
;
*
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...
**
**
;
*
Polish Navy
**Coastal Missile Squadron
;
*
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
**
**
**
*
U.S. Marine Corps
Future operators
;
*
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
**
**
;
*
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
**
Canadian Surface Combatant
The Canadian Surface Combatant, formerly the Single Class Surface Combatant Project is the name given to the procurement project that will replace the and warships with up to 15 new ships beginning in the mid to late 2020s as part of the Natio ...
;
*
German Navy
The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
;
*
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...
**
;
*
Royal Malaysian Navy
The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia; TLDM; Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defense operations. RMN's area of o ...
**
;
*
Romanian Navy
The Romanian Navy ( ro, Forțele Navale Române) is the navy branch of the Romanian Armed Forces; it operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860.
History
The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flot ...
Delivery expected finished Q4 2024.
;
*
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
**
Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate
The ''Álvaro de Bazán'' class, also known as the F100 class, is a class of Aegis combat system-equipped air defence frigates in service with the Spanish Navy. The vessels were built by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia in Ferrol, with the lead shi ...
**
F110-class frigate
The F110 class, also known as the ''Bonifaz'' class, are a multi-purpose, anti-submarine class of Aegis combat system-fitted heavy frigates under construction for the Spanish Navy. The project is being co-developed by the Spanish Ministry of De ...
*
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
(a total of 11 vessels)
**
Type 23 Frigate
The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonly known as the Duke class. The first Type 23, , was commission ...
**
Type 45 Destroyer
The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or ''Daring'' class, is a Ship class, class of six guided-missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the early 21st century. The class is primarily designed for Anti-aircraft warfa ...
Potential operators
*
Ukrainian Navy
The Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Військо́во-морські́ си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни, ВМС ЗСУ) is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Arme ...
*
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
*
Indonesian Navy
The Indonesian Navy ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, , Indonesian National Military-Naval Force, TNI-AL) is the naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol I ...
**
See also
*
SOM Cruise Missile
*
Naval anti ship missile -MR
*
ATMACA
*
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
*
Kh-35
The Zvezda Kh-35 (russian: Х-35 , AS-20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic cruise anti-ship missile. The missile can be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which c ...
*
Harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, seal hunting, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the t ...
*
Exocet
The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Etymology
The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...
*
Sea Eagle
A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...
*
Sea Killer
Sea Killer is an Italian anti-ship missile family. The latest development of the system is known as Marte. Marte is a sea skimming, subsonic, anti-ship missile, it carries a semi-armour piercing warhead. It has been built in several versions, ...
*
RBS-15
The RBS 15 (Robotsystem 15) is a long-range fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface anti-ship missile. The later version Mk. III has the ability to attack land targets as well. The missile was developed by the Swedish company Sa ...
*
BrahMos
The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)[Otomat
The Otomat is an anti-ship and coastal defence missile developed by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first versions, from the name of the two builders ("Oto Melara" and "Matra") an ...](_blank)
*
C-802
*
YJ-12
The YJ-12 () is a Chinese supersonic anti-ship cruise missile.
Description
The YJ-12 is an air-launched missile that resembles a lengthened Kh-31 and is close in shape to the GQM-163 Coyote aerial target.
A 2011 article in the United States N ...
*
Type 80 Air-to-Ship Missile
Type 80 Air-to-Ship Missile (80式空対艦誘導弾, ASM-1) is an air-launched anti-ship missile developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It entered service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in 1980. The major launch platforms for the Type ...
*
Type 88 Surface-to-Ship Missile
The Type 88 Surface-to-Ship Missile (88式地対艦誘導弾, SSM-1) is a truck-mounted anti-ship missile developed by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in the late 1980s. It is a land-based version of the air-launched Type 80 (ASM-1) missile; ...
*
Type 90 Ship-to-Ship Missile
The Type 90 Ship-to-Ship Missile (90式艦対艦誘導弾, SSM-1B) is a ship-launched anti-ship missile developed by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that entered service in 1990. It is a naval version of the truck-launched Type 88 (SSM-1) mis ...
*
Type 93 Air-to-Ship Missile
The Type 93 Air-to-Ship Missile (93式空対艦誘導弾, ASM-2) is an air-to-ship missile developed in Japan.
This missile is used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
The ASM-2 will be replaced by the ASM-3.
See also
* Type 80 Air-to-Shi ...
*
Sea Breaker
References
External links
Official NSM product page at KDAOfficial JSM product page at KDADefpro.com:Norway conducted very successful NSM test firing (Febr 2009)Missile.index search– Choose Development-Country: "Norway", then click "Search", then pick "NSM" from the results list (direct linking N/A)
Kongsberg test fires Naval Strike Missiles– ''Jane's Navy International'', 8 August 2006
Capital Markets Day 2007 Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
{{US missiles
Anti-ship cruise missiles of Norway
Anti-ship missiles of Norway
Kongsberg Gruppen
Surface-to-surface missiles
Military equipment introduced in the 2010s
Anti-ship missiles of the United States