A Royal Navy warship has completed the first firing of a new type of anti-ship missile capable of taking out targets at ranges of more than 160 kilometres.
The Plymouth-based Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset headed recently to Norway’s Arctic rocket range in Andøya with a new type of 400kg "naval strike missile" (NSM) during Exercise Aegir 25 alongside Norwegian and Polish allies.
The NSM can be used against warships or land targets and has greater range and improved capabilities compared to the Harpoon missile system on the navy's Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers.
Staff from Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, which manufacture the NSMs, were on board Somerset supporting prior and during the firing.
The NSM, which is also in service with the Norwegian, US and Polish navies, travels close to supersonic speeds and can evading detection by skimming just above the surface of the water.
The NSM will be a complementary weapon for the "future cruise anti-ship weapon," which will become the Royal Navy's premier long-range, heavy duty anti-ship missile. This weapon system will be carried by the navy’s newer warships fitted with the Mark 41 vertical launch system, including the new Type 26 and Type 31 frigates.
The NSM is currently fitted to Somerset and her Type 23 sisters HMS Richmond and HMS Portland.