Saifullah Sani
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The USN's decommissioned Newport-class landing ship tank vessel ex-USS Ogden (LPD 5) is hit by a NSM from the Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen during a 'RIMPAC' ship sinking exercise on 10 July 2014. Source: US Navy
Key Points
- USN to demonstrate Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missile in live fire test on board USS Coronado
- The NSM test, planned for September 2014, will demonstrate the Littoral Combat Ship's potential to execute increased anti-surface warfare role
The Norwegian Navy's successful firing of a new Naval Strike Missile (NSM) during the 'Rim of the Pacific' ('RIMPAC') exercise has caught the attention of the US Navy (USN) admiral in charge of the fleet's Pacific naval forces.
Admiral Harry B Harris Jr, commander of US Pacific Fleet, told IHS Jane's on 22 July that the NSM, which was fired from the Royal Norwegian Navy's Aegis-equipped frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen (F 310) during a ship sinking exercise, could have potential application on board the USN's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
"It has great range," Adm Harris told IHS Jane's during the interview at Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The NSM is an 880-pound, long-range, radar-evading sea-skimming missile produced by Kongsberg. With a range of more than 100 n miles, the NSM has greater reach than the Harpoon anti-ship missile that is currently in the USN's inventory, the admiral noted.
"I think it has the potential for broad use in NATO for Norway," he said. "We're going to test it on LCS coming up here this fall. … We're going to bolt it on the LCS and try it out."
USS Coronado (LCS 4), the USN's second Independence variant of LCS, is to host the NSM trial in September, according to Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).
The planned live firing of NSM, under the navy's 'Foreign Comparative Testing Program' will act as a demonstration of LCS's potential to execute an increased anti-surface warfare role, NAVSEA spokesman Lieutenant Kurt Larson told IHS Jane's on 24 July. "Additionally, it will provide insights into the weapon's stated capabilities of increased range, survivability, and lethality. While there is currently no requirement for this capability aboard LCS, we view the demonstration as an opportunity to test a possible future warfighting tool," he said.
The LCS programme is examining a number of missile systems, including the US Army's AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire and the Raytheon-made Griffin missile, for incorporation into anti-surface warfare mission packages for the two LCS variants - the Independence aluminium trimaran and the Freedom steel monohull. However, those weapons are short-range missiles that leave a gap in combat capability, the Pacific Fleet admiral pointed out. Griffin has a reach of a dozen miles while the Hellfire has a range of about 5-6 miles.
NSM would provide LCS with a longer range capability that would complement the shorter-range missiles and increase the ship's lethality. Both LCS variants are equipped with a 57 mm Bofors gun, in addition to two 30 mm guns provided by the anti-surface warfare mission package.
The planned NSM test on board Coronado will help the USN learn more about NSM's potential application for its warships, Adm Harris noted.
"I'm very excited about that, and if it's as simple to use as the Norwegians tell me it is, then that's even better," said Adm Harris. "The combination of those kinds of missiles, plus the gun that we have, I think, makes LCS a very interesting platform."
RIMPAC 2014: US Pacific Fleet commander eyes Norway's naval strike missile capability - IHS Jane's 360
