Norway, Poland show off Naval Strike Missile in northern waters

The shooting exercise has been going on for several weeks, the Navy informs. During the training, Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) have been launched from the frigate «KNM Otto Sverdrup» as well as from one of the country’s corvettes.

In addition, Polish forces have launched the NSM from land-based installations.

«The Navy regularly does training and operations in the High North,» says Chief of the Norwegian Navy, Commodore Rune Andersen.

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«We contribute to surveillance and presence in the North and demonstrate our military capacity to protect marine areas together with allies,» he adds.

Observers from several more countries have been on site to following the training.

According to the Norwegian Navy, the exercise has been conducted in a realistic manner and given «very good results». It was held in the Andfjorden, about 100 south of Tromsø, northern Norway.

The Norwegian-Polish training has been coordinated by the Andøya Test Center (ATC). Also the Norwegian Brigade Nord has been on site with it air artillery and conducted shooting on drone targets.

The Naval Strike Missile is one of Norway’s main anti-ship weapon. It is developed by the Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace and is the successor of the Penguin missile. It constitutes a key part of the arsenal of Norway’s frigates, as well as patrol boats.

The weapon has also been acquired by the Polish Navy and the missiles are now installed as key part of the country’s Coastal Missile Division.

In 2018, also the U.S Navy chose the NSM as one of its new key anti-ship weapon. In addition, Germany, Malaysia and India is about to sign up for the firearms.

The missile is among the most modern weapons of its kind. It is very difficult to discover and protect oneself against, the Norwegian Navy says.