Naval Strike Missile
Encyclopedia
The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship
and land-attack missile
developed by the Norwegian
company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA)
, and whose initial serial production contract was signed in June 2007. It has been chosen by the Royal Norwegian Navy
for its new Fridtjof Nansen
class frigates and Skjold
class patrol boats. In December 2008 the NSM was selected by the Polish Navy in which it is now included. The final milestone was completed in June 2011 with tests at pt Mugu. On September 21 a new demonstration video of the missile became famous on youtube hitting over 140.000 views in the first 5 days. This new demonstration shows the missile mission tests for the new F35 Lightning II program. This will be a multi-role version, named the Joint Strike Missile (JSM), and will be the only cruise missile to fit the internal bays of the F-35.
The original Norwegian
name was Norsk sjømålsmissil (literally Norwegian sea target missile); the English marketing name Naval Strike Missile was adopted later.
s is meant to give the missile sophisticated stealth
capabilities. The missile will weigh slightly more than 400 kg
(880 lb
) and have a range of at least 185 km (100 nm
). NSM is designed for littoral waters ("brown water
") as well as for open sea ("green and blue water
") scenarios.
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
s. While the Penguin is a yaw-to-turn missile, NSM is based on bank-to-turn flight (see Yaw (flight) and flight control).
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 (IIR) seeker and an onboard target database. NSM is able to navigate by GPS
, inertial and terrain reference
systems.
After being launched into the air by a solid rocket booster which is jettisoned upon burning out, the missile is propelled to its target in high subsonic speed by a turbojet sustainer engine—leaving the 125 kg multi-purpose blast/fragmentation warhead
to do its work, which in case of a ship target means impacting the ship at or near the water line.
F-35 Lightning II
"Joint Strike Fighter". Studies have shown that the F-35 would be able to carry two of these in its internal bays, while additional missiles could be carried externally.
According to Kongsberg, this "multi-role NSM" is the only powered anti-ship missile that will fit inside the F-35's internal bays. Lockheed Martin and Kongsberg have signed a joint-marketing agreement for this air-launched version of the NSM, as well as an agreement committing both parties to integrating the JSM on the F-35 platform. The project is funded by Norway and Australia
. Kongsberg signed a contract for the first phase of development of the JSM in April, 2009, which is scheduled for completion within 18 months.
Improved features for the Joint Strike Missile include:
The JSM will have multicore computers running Integrity real-time operating system from Green Hills Software
.
Anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missiles are guided missiles that are designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type, many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...
and land-attack missile
Land-attack missile
A land-attack missile is a naval surface-to-surface missile that is capable of effectively attacking targets ashore, unlike specialised anti-ship missiles, which are optimized for striking other ships. Some dual-role missiles are suitable for both missions....
developed by the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA)
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace , one of two operating companies of Kongsberg Gruppen of Norway, is a supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and weapons control systems for naval vessels and air-defence applications...
, and whose initial serial production contract was signed in June 2007. It has been chosen by the Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
for its new Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen class frigate
The Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates are the main surface combatant units of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The ships are named after famous Norwegian explorers, with the lead ship of the class bearing the name of Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian scientist, explorer and humanitarian.Five ships were ordered...
class frigates and Skjold
Skjold class patrol boat
The Skjold class patrol boats is a new class of superfast, large stealth missile craft, formerly known as MTBs . From 2009, the Royal Norwegian Navy officially label them as coastal corvettes because their seaworthiness is seen as comparable to corvettes. They are built at the Umoe Mandal yard...
class patrol boats. In December 2008 the NSM was selected by the Polish Navy in which it is now included. The final milestone was completed in June 2011 with tests at pt Mugu. On September 21 a new demonstration video of the missile became famous on youtube hitting over 140.000 views in the first 5 days. This new demonstration shows the missile mission tests for the new F35 Lightning II program. This will be a multi-role version, named the Joint Strike Missile (JSM), and will be the only cruise missile to fit the internal bays of the F-35.
The original Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
name was Norsk sjømålsmissil (literally Norwegian sea target missile); the English marketing name Naval Strike Missile was adopted later.
Design and features
The state-of-the-art design and use of composite materialComposite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
s is meant to give the missile sophisticated stealth
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
capabilities. The missile will weigh slightly more than 400 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
(880 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
) and have a range of at least 185 km (100 nm
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
). NSM is designed for littoral waters ("brown water
Maritime geography
Maritime geography is often discussed in terms of four loosely-defined regions: Riverine, brown water, green water, and blue water.-Brown water:...
") as well as for open sea ("green and blue water
Maritime geography
Maritime geography is often discussed in terms of four loosely-defined regions: Riverine, brown water, green water, and blue water.-Brown water:...
") scenarios.
Like its Penguin predecessor, NSM is able to fly over and around landmasses, travel in sea skim
Sea skimming
Sea skimming is a technique many anti-ship missiles use to avoid radar and infrared detection during their approach.-Method:Sea skimming anti-ship missiles try to fly as low as is practically achievable, which is almost always below 50 meters , and is often down towards 5 meters .-Advantages:By...
mode, and then make random manoeuvres in the terminal phase, making it harder to stop by enemy countermeasure
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...
s. While the Penguin is a yaw-to-turn missile, NSM is based on bank-to-turn flight (see Yaw (flight) and flight control).
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 (IIR) seeker and an onboard target database. NSM is able to navigate by GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
, inertial and terrain reference
TERCOM
Terrain Contour Matching, or TERCOM, is a navigation system used primarily by cruise missiles. It uses a pre-recorded contour map of the terrain that is compared to measurements made during flight by an on-board radar altimeter. A TERCOM system considerably increases the accuracy of a missile...
systems.
After being launched into the air by a solid rocket booster which is jettisoned upon burning out, the missile is propelled to its target in high subsonic speed by a turbojet sustainer engine—leaving the 125 kg multi-purpose blast/fragmentation warhead
Warhead
The term warhead refers to the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.- Etymology :During the early development of naval torpedoes, they could be equipped with an inert payload that was intended for use during training, test firing and exercises. This...
to do its work, which in case of a ship target means impacting the ship at or near the water line.
Joint Strike Missile
A multi-role version of the NSM is in development. This missile is called Joint Strike Missile (JSM) and will feature an option for ground strike and a two-way communications line, so that the missile can communicate with the central control room or other missiles in the air. This missile will be integrated with the Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
F-35 Lightning II
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
"Joint Strike Fighter". Studies have shown that the F-35 would be able to carry two of these in its internal bays, while additional missiles could be carried externally.
According to Kongsberg, this "multi-role NSM" is the only powered anti-ship missile that will fit inside the F-35's internal bays. Lockheed Martin and Kongsberg have signed a joint-marketing agreement for this air-launched version of the NSM, as well as an agreement committing both parties to integrating the JSM on the F-35 platform. The project is funded by Norway and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Kongsberg signed a contract for the first phase of development of the JSM in April, 2009, which is scheduled for completion within 18 months.
Improved features for the Joint Strike Missile include:
- Ability to attack sea and land based targets
- Aerial launch platform (F-35F-35 Lightning IIThe Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
) - Improved range over NSM to 240km http://defense-update.com/newscast/0207/news/010207_nsm.htm
- Long-term, production start in 2013
The JSM will have multicore computers running Integrity real-time operating system from Green Hills Software
Green Hills Software
Green Hills Software is a privately owned company that builds operating systems and development tools for embedded systems. The company was founded in 1982 by Dan O'Dowd and Carl Rosenberg...
.
External links
- Official NSM product page at KDA
- Defpro.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