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2h ago

Royal Navy Fires Naval Strike Missile From HMS Somerset in First Shipboard Test

The first-of-class firing signals an interim return to long‑range strike pending the Royal Navy’s future heavyweight missile.

HMS Somerset test-fires Naval Strike Missile
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Overview

  • Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset launched the NSM during Exercise AEGIR 25 at Norway’s Andøya Test Centre alongside Norwegian and Polish partners.
  • The trial marks the weapon’s debut from a British warship and begins the replacement of the ageing Harpoon with a sea‑skimming, passively guided missile that can also strike targets ashore.
  • HMS Portland and HMS Richmond are already fitted, and the UK Defence Journal reports a total of 11 Royal Navy vessels are scheduled to receive the system.
  • Officials highlighted UK–Norway cooperation on the programme, with Kongsberg engineers involved in months of shipboard preparation ahead of the firing.
  • Reporting differs on specifications, with the UK Defence Journal citing a system weight of about 400 kg including booster and a 120 kg warhead, and subsonic speeds up to roughly Mach 0.93.