Leidos Australia and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace have signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Indo Pacific 2025, signifying an intent to assess the possible integration of Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM) into Leidos’s Sea Archer and Long Bow unmanned surface vessels.
The combination outlined in a proof of concept has these pair of systems eyed to increase anti-ship capabilities possessed by the Royal Australian Navy. Mounting NSM onto Sea Archer and Long Bow would provide a more flexible and numerous option to pursue anti-ship mission sets than existing Australian capabilities.
“This MOU represents a significant step forward in exploring a mission-ready, sovereign maritime strike capability for Australia,”
Australia currently fields the NSM onboard an expanding number of manned vessels, including Anzac-class frigates, Hobart-class guided missile destroyers, and potentially the future Hunter-class frigates, an Australian derivative of BAE’s Type-26 class frigates. Prior Australian operation of NSM provides a sound basis for the operation of any additional platforms which field the missile.
Through this potential combination, Australia would also field Leidos’s supply USV’s with Sea Archer and Longbow named specifically in the announcement on LinkedIn. Sea Archer has seen prior testing with the United States Marine corps, underlining the intent to combine two proven platforms.
Currently, Sea Archer is apart of Leidos’s offerings for a suite of potential USVs, with emphasis put on the system’s autonomy and the implementation of AI in the vessel’s battle management system. Sea Archer can reach up to a peak of 40 knots, with an effective range of 1,500 nautical miles whilst carrying a modular payload of over 900kg.
Sea Archer has already entered rigorous testing with the U.S Marine Corps, with Naval News previously reporting that trials had entered the later stages at Sea Air and Space 2025. While tested in the U.S, Sea Archer is currently under construction in Australia, offering a more local basis for the needs of the Royal Australian Navy.
Longbow is Sea Archer’s larger sibling, featuring a large iteration of the design present within Sea Archer. As such, Longbow can carry a heavier payload at 3,000kgs and can reach ranges as far as 2,750 nautical miles.
SH Defence modular NSM launcher Indo Pacific 2025 Modular NSM launcher on display on SH Defence stand during Indo Pacific 2025.
The NSM is an advanced, fifth generation, stealth cruise missile designed for both maritime strike and land attack against heavily defended targets. It has been selected by, or under delivery to, 14 nations including Norway, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, where it entered service with the Royal Australian Navy in 2024. The NSM itself can be deck launched from ships or fired from trucks as part of the NSM Coastal Defence System (CDS) without modification. NSM is currently used in a land based strike configuration with Poland and the US Marine Corps (USMC), and has been selected by three other NATO nations.
The tight and efficient form factor (a mass of 407kg and a length of just under 4 meters) makes it ideal for replacing aging shipboard options amongst western navies, as well as for any potential alternative launch platforms
The Royal Australian Navy in August last year also launched for the first time an NSM antiship missile from HMAS Sydney. RAN is presently in the process of replacing the ageing Harpoon AShM with NSM across the active fleet.
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