Great Britain will purchase Norwegian NSM anti-ship missiles with a range of 185 km instead of the U.S. Harpoon

The British Royal Navy will decommission American Harpoon missiles next year. There are already replacements for them.

Here's What We Know

American Harpoon anti-ship missiles have long been the backbone of the British Navy's strike armament. In 2023, they will be replaced by Norwegian Naval Strike Missile (NSM) missiles developed by Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace.

This is reported by the Norwegian Ministry of Defense. The details of the contract were agreed by the defense ministers of the two countries, and a corresponding statement they made on board the flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is now in Oslo.

Great Britain will receive NSM missiles for Type 23 and Type 45 frigates and destroyers respectively. The first phase will include the refit of three ships within a year. The work will take place at Babcock International shipyards with the participation of BAE Systems and Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace.

As for the NSMs themselves, they are subsonic missiles that can destroy both surface and ground targets. The warhead has a mass of 120 kg, and the entire missile weighs 410 kg. The maximum launch range is 185 km.

Source: Defense News