Raytheon Company and Kongsberg Defense Systems are teaming to assemble, integrate, and test the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) and build NSM launchers in the United States, according to a Raytheon press release.
The two companies are pitching the NSM as an over-the-horizon anti-ship missile for the littoral combat ship, both variants of which the U.S. Navy plans to upgrade, up-gun, and re-designate fast frigates before down-selecting to a single platform in the future.
The U.S. Navy successfully test-fired an NSM from the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) in September 2014.
“NSM production in America is the latest evolution of our decades-long relationship with Kongsberg,” said Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. “We will assemble the missile and launchers in the same Raytheon factories where we produce many of the world’s most advanced missiles and other weapons systems.”
Raytheon plans to perform final assembly, integration, and testing of NSM at the company’s facility in Tucson, Arizona. The company would manufacture the launchers in its Louisville, Kentucky facility.
A Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is launched from the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) during a test off the coast of Southern California. U.S. Navy photo
Kongsberg touts the NSM as the only fifth-generation naval anti-ship missile on the market today. The sea-skimming missile employs rocket launch and a turbojet sustainer motor propelling it to ranges over 100 miles at high subsonic speed, and features heavy use of composites and stealth shaping, terrain-following flight, high maneuverability and random maneuvering in terminal mode, as well as an advanced Imaging Infrared Seeker with Autonomous Target Recognition.
The U.S. Navy successfully test-fired an NSM from the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) in September 2014. The missile weighs approximately 900 pounds, including a 276-pound warhead.
“Warfighters around the globe will benefit from the Kongsberg-Raytheon partnership on NSM,” said Harald Ånnestad, president of Kongsberg Defense Systems. “Production of NSM in the United States will secure ramp up and sustainability of NSM, the world’s only fifth-generation Naval Strike Missile with land target capabilities, for the U.S. and our allies. Increased volume of NSM creates and secures jobs in both the U.S. and Norway.”