HMAS Sydney seen here firing the Naval Strike Missile during a SINKEX off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, as a part of Exercise ‘RIMPAC 2024'. (Commonwealth of Australia)
A Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Hobart-class destroyer has carried out the service's first firing of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM).
The firing was carried out by third-of-class HMAS Sydney during Exercise ‘RIMPAC 2024', which is being hosted by the US Navy (USN) in and around the waters off Hawaii, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) disclosed in a statement on 22 July.
At the firing, Sydney successfully fired the NSM at a decommissioned USN amphibious assault ship, which was in service as USS Tarawa .
“HMAS Sydney's firing of [the] Naval Strike Missile during ‘RIMPAC 2024' represents a significant increase in the lethality of our surface fleet and delivers on our commitment to accelerate the introduction of enhanced lethality strike capabilities,” said RAN Chief Vice Admiral Mark Hammond in the statement released by the DoD.
“[The] Naval Strike Missile is a key capability for the lethality enhancement and survivability of our ships and enables our ability to hold an adversary at risk at greater range,” said the admiral.
“Multidomain strike capabilities including [the] Naval Strike Missile are foundational to deterring any potential adversary's attempts to project power against Australia,” he added.
The NSM is a sea-skimming long-range missile first developed by Kongsberg to provide the Royal Norwegian Navy with a surface-attack weapon that can better survive close-in defence systems.
It carries a 120 kg high-explosive blast fragmentation warhead and has a range in excess of 200 km. The NSM can be launched from naval ships and from launchers on land.
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