XBradTC

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is set to strap a Norwegian anti-ship missile to the deck of an Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship in an exploration of boosting the firepower of the LCS hulls.

Next week, USS Coronado (LCS-4) will test fire a Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile off the coast of Southern California at the target ranges at Port Hueneme.

“This demonstration is intended to test the capabilities of the Norwegian-made missile from a sea-based platform against a Mobile Ship Target (MST) and provide insights into the weapon’s stated capabilities of increased range and lethality,” according to a Thursday release from NAVSEA.

via Navy Testing Norwegian Naval Strike Missile on LCS Next Week – USNI News.

It’s about time. Ideally, if we’re forced to have 24 or 32 LCS in the fleet, they can be armed to take out more than a Boston Whaler.

We’ve shared the NSM video before. What the heck, why not one more time.

Further down in the article is this bit:

NAVSEA told USNI News on Friday the test of the missile was not necessarily the start of a new acquisition program for the LCS Surface Warfare package or had a direct relation to the completed — but yet unrevealed — Small Surface Combatant (SSC) study.

“The Navy views as an opportunity to test a future warfighting capability,” NAVSEA spokesman Matthew Leonard told USNI News on Friday.
“There is currently no requirement for this capability.”

They don’t mean that there’s not requirement for this capability. They mean there’s no requirement written down as one of the things to buy. That’s dumb, but can be changed. And one suspects that someone at NAVSEA is working very hard to write a requirement that, without saying “Norwegian Strike Missile” can only be filled by Norwegian Strike Missile.  And Kongsberg is probably working to establish a partnership for shared production or licensed production of the NSM here in the US.