HMS Portland has become the second Royal Navy warship to be fitted with new missiles capable of taking out enemy ships at ranges of more than 100 miles away.
The Plymouth-based frigate follows the first, HMS Somerset, in completing trials and loading eight of the upgraded Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) in Norway, with the rest of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 and Type 45 destroyer fleet now set to follow.
The 400kg Naval Strike Missile – which is also in service with the Norwegian, US and Polish navies – replaces the now-retired Harpoon system. It travels at speeds close to Mach 1 and can strike targets more than 100 miles away, evading detection by skimming on the sea.
Portland carried out alignment and sea acceptance trials with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, Norway’s premier supplier of defense systems, and the UK’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) at Haakonsvern Naval Base, the Norwegian Navy’s primary base, near Bergen.
“Through close collaboration with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and DE&S Torpedoes and Maritime Strike, the successful completion of NSM trials has ensured that HMS Portland is prepared for future tasking,” said Lieutenant Commander Gary Chambers, Portland’s Weapon Engineer Officer.
“We are embracing this technology in defense of the nation and are equipped to fight and win.”
Portland’s crew were trained in onloading and offloading the weapons into the specially designed housing, before a harbor trial ensured the whole NSM system, including the missiles themselves, were properly functioning and working with the ship’s other systems and sensors.
The alignment and sea acceptance trials saw Silverbird, a telemetry variation of NSM, embarked and involved high speed maneuvers to ensure the system can be operated effectively during operations in difficult seas.
“With the completion of its Harbor Acceptance Test, NSM has been successfully integrated into HMS Portland,” said Øyvind Kolset, Executive Vice President, Missiles & Space at Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
“We are impressed by the professionalism of the Royal Navy, and the close cooperation that played a key role in making this such a successful event.”
Portland will now head for a planned maintenance period before onloading NSM again for operations in 2025.
The NSM plugs the gap between Harpoon and the advent of its permanent successor, the ‘future offensive surface weapon’, which will become the Fleet’s premier long-range, heavy duty anti-ship missile, carried by the Royal Navy’s next-generation Type 26 frigates, currently under construction on the Clyde.