Kongsberg test fires of Naval Strike Missile from shipping container

The NSM being fired from a container, as seen in an image released by Kongsberg. (Kongsberg)

Norwegian defence company Kongsberg has test fired a Naval Strike Missile (NSM) round from a shipping container, a representative from the company has informed Janes .

The firing, conducted on 1 October at an undisclosed military test range, involved a 4-pack launcher housed in a 20-foot container.

Speaking to Janes at the Land Forces exhibition in Perth, Australia, on 8 October, Kongsberg Missile Division Vice President for Business Development Strategy, Ståle Mortensson, confirmed the live launch featured a NSM Ballistic Test Vehicle (BTV) from a container.

The BTV round has the same size and weight as a live NSM but does not carry a live warhead, Mortensson confirmed.

Ahead of launch, the modified shipping container's roof section opens, creating an aperture for the multi-canister launcher to fire the missile.

Mortensson said such a capability could be forward deployed across the battlespace in a concealed manner to support expeditionary operations.

He also suggested it could be used to support land strike fire missions.

NSM is carried on board a variety of Royal Australian Navy (RAN) surface vessels, including Hobart-class destroyers and Anzac-class frigates.

According to Mortensson, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) might also be interested in a land-based solution.

Options, he added, could include a containerised variant as well as a two-pack NSM launcher mounted on a StrikeMaster vehicle.

“We are looking at the market and hoping to sell internationally. We have not stopped cooperation with Thales. The Commonwealth [of Australia] is interested in different solutions. If funded, we could localise production,” Mortensson said.