Norway orders additional naval strike missiles

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG) has signed a supplemental agreement with the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (FMA) for the ongoing procurement of Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for deliveries to the Norwegian Navy.

The value of the contract is MNOK 487, Naval News reports. 

“KONGSBERG appreciates the strong collaboration with the FMA, and we look forward to continuing to deliver the market-leading Naval Strike Missiles the Norwegian Navy,” says Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

The company added on its LinkedIn account: “We are proud to contribute to the Norwegian Navy’s mission readiness and enhance the national security framework. A big thank you to everyone involved for their dedication and hard work”.

NSM anti-ship missiles are deployed aboard the six Skjold-class corvettes and the four Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates of the Royal Norwegian Navy.

The Naval Strike Missile is a long-range, precision strike weapon that seeks and destroys enemy ships at distances greater than 100 nautical miles. It uses Inertial, GPS and terrain-reference navigation and imaging infrared homing (with a target database aboard the missile).

The NSM is a very flexible system, which can be launched from a variety of platforms against a variety of targets on sea and land.

The airframe design and the high thrust-to-weight ratio give the NSM extremely good manoeuvrability. The missile is completely passive and has proven its excellent sea-skimming capabilities and with its advanced terminal manoeuvres, it will survive the enemy air defences. The Autonomous Target Recognition (ATR) of the seeker ensures that the correct target is detected, recognized, and hit, at sea or on land.

The NSM is a fifth-generation anti-ship missile, produced by Kongsberg and managed in the U.S. by Raytheon. NSM reached Initial Operational Capability on the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates and the Norwegian Skjold Class corvettes in 2012.

The Netherlands became the 11th and latest customer of the Naval Strike Missile in December 2022, joining the navies of Norway, Poland, Malaysia, Germany, United States (for both the US Navy and USMC), Romania, Canada, Australia, Spain and the UK.