The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support and the Norwegian procurement agency Forsvarsmateriell have come to a deal for the joint procurement of the new Naval Strike Missile (NSM) Block 1A. Norway’s Kongsberg has been contracted to deliver the missiles, which were developed jointly with MBDA, for the German and Norwegian navies. According to Kongsberg, the contract is valued at €425M and in Germany, the F124, F125 and F126 frigates will be equipped with them. For the F124 and F125 vessels, they will replace the ageing HARPOON. Operational readiness with the new missiles is to be achieved on the first frigates from the mid-2020s.
NSM is the latest generation of long-range precision missiles. With stealth design and passive infrared image sensor, it is difficult to detect. It is optimised for combat against sea targets in near-shore and coastal environments with high threat or defence potential. The high accuracy of the IR sensor helps to avoid collateral damage. The 407 kg multi-mission capable NSM is capable of speeds up to 0.95 Mach and has a range of more than 100 nautical miles.
Gerhard Heiming
