UK warships to be equipped with Norwegian precision strike missiles

Europe, News November 26, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Britain’s Royal Navy is all set to replace its old Harpoon missiles with new long-range precision strike missiles, made by the Norwegian Kongsberg Defence company. In the first phase, eleven frigates and destroyers are to be equipped with the new Naval Strike Missile systems.

According to an agreement between the British Royal Navy and the Norwegian government, Kongsberg would provide its latest naval strike missiles for British warships.

The first three warships are being rapidly modified to accept the weapon with the first ready for operation in a little over 12 months. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace revealed the deal during a visit of the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to Norway this week.

The new surface-to-surface attack weapons are being rushed into service in time to fill the space created by the retiring Harpoon missiles, originally built by McDonnell Douglas. The British Royal Navy had planned to put Harpoon missiles out of service starting in 2018, all the old missiles are set to be replaced by 2023, however, no immediate replacement was announced initially. The Harpoon missiles have been in service with the Royal Navy since 1977 with several variants and upgraded versions. McDonnell Douglas stopped the Harpoon program after the company was acquired by Boeing.

It was not until November last year that when UK Ministry of Defense indicated that the Norwegian missiles might replace the long-serving Harpoon missiles on the British naval fleet. “This is a significant task with an ambitious timeline,” Norwegian Minister of Defence Bjorn Arild Gram said regarding the agreement. “Both nations have established a designated team with a strong mandate to ensure the success of this common effort.”

Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile will provide the Royal Navy with long-range strike capabilities against the surface ship and land targets. The Royal Navy is also exploring other options while developing its own permanent successor for the Harpoon missiles as the ‘future offensive surface weapon’.

*^{Norwegian Kongsberg Defence company’s Naval Strike Missile. (Image Credit: Kongsberg)}*

The Royal Navy’s next-generation anti-ship missile is scheduled in service in 2028 onboard Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates, the first three of which are under construction by BAE Systems shipyards on Clyde, Scotland. It is expected that a new long-range surface-to-surface missile would also be introduced along with the new warships.

BAE along with Britain’s other main warship build Babcock, supported by Kongsberg, will be leading the effort integrating the Norwegian missile to the Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers.