This week has had good news for the British Navy. HMS Somerset, a type 23 frigate from the Royal British Navy, perfect. The scenario was the Andøya test polygon, in Norway, a country that was precisely the first to adopt this system.
This, for those who are somewhat lost, marks a before and after, since, for many years, the Missile Harpoon Block 1C had been the basic weapon, the standard on the ships of the Royal Navy.
Back in the 80s and 90s they were a great star, but its design and capabilities have already been quite outdated for the advances that are currently being lived. Hence this has already been seen as an urgent need, rather than a simple change.
Going to some data, Naval Strike Missile is a creation of Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, with a very curious design that makes it difficult to detect by enemy radars. With a range of more than 100 nautical miles and a 400 kilos war head, it is currently positioned as one of the most top in service missiles.
One of its great advantages is that not only can ships attack, but also terrestrial objectives in coastal areas thanks to that shooting distance. Apparently, this is just the beginning. The United Kingdom participates with France in the development of Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FCASW), a program that seeks to provide them towards the end of the decade of a latest generation system. So, this, at least at the moment, it is a well necessary patch.
Today, there are three frigates that already have the NSM: the Somerset, the HMS Portland and the HMS Richmond. The latter, in fact, was equipped in Norway last March before joining the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier in a deployment that will travel from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
The idea with all this is to reinforce the presence of the surface fleet in waters where competition is extreme, from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indo-Pacific.
The US Navy has the final weapon: a 100 -ton robot warship that attacks 1,600 kilometers away
Of course, here it is all countries that are putting the batteries when innovating and not being left behind in terms of naval war. Without going any further, what the United States Navy is preparing for its naval forces, thanks to the collaboration between a new Marine veterans startup and one of the most powerful traditional shipyards in the country, is a real beast.
It is a fleet of autonomous, modular and flexible surface ships, which combine the agility of an emerging company. Ships weigh up to 100 tons and can navigate more than 1,600 kilometers without reposting, so they are perfect for long and extreme difficulty missions in the high seas.
As if it were a mastodontic swarm, What they are looking for is a totally versatile fleet. This is achieved precisely with the modularity, which allows the weapons or equipment modules to be easily changed according to the mission that touches.
They have a catamaran type design with two thin helmets for greater stability and speed, they reach maximum speeds of 46 km/Hy can operate autonomously for months. On the other hand, the ship acts as a platform to launch state-of-the-art missiles, such as Lrasm (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile), designed to attack distant objectives.
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