Overview of the NSM stealth anti-ship missile with a range of up to 240 km

The NSM (Naval Assault Missile) medium-range anti-ship missile is designed to hit a wide variety of surface targets in the open sea, in bays and fjords, and can also be used against land targets. The missile was developed by Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace for the Norwegian Navy. NSM can be used as part of multi-purpose ship, ground and air base complexes.

Ship-based NSM missiles are planned to arm new Nansen-type frigates and Skjold-type missile boats. The main frigate F-310 Nansen was adopted by the Norwegian Navy in June 2006. The aviation version of the NSM, which received the designation JSM (Joint Strike Missile), is included in the possible armament of multipurpose fighters F-35 Lightning II, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and NH90 helicopters.

The JSM multipurpose missile has an increased firing range of up to 240 km, an advanced control system with a two-way data transmission line, which allows information exchange and operation as part of an air strike group.

The F-35 fighter can carry two JSM missiles in the internal compartments and additional missiles in the external suspension nodes.

The NSM missile was built according to the normal aerodynamic scheme, equipped with an opening wing in the middle position in the tail part of the fuselage and four all-round rudders. In the design of the missile, measures to reduce radar and thermal visibility were applied. There are no contrasting gaps and sharp edges on the surface of the case, composite and radio-absorbing materials are widely used.

A solid rocket engine is used as the starting accelerator. The marching engine of the NSM rocket is a TRI 40 turbojet engine developed by the French company Microturbo. The compact Microturbo TRI 40 single-cylinder engine is equipped with a four-stage axial compressor and an annular combustion chamber. The TRI 40 develops static take-off thrust of 2.5-3.0 kN at a net weight of 44 kg, has a maximum transverse dimension of 280 mm and a length of 680 mm.

The engine works in a very wide flight range with the possibility of maneuvering at altitude and speed, flight altitude up to 6000 m, flight speed up to Mach 0.95. The engine can be started with an igniter or autorotation at an altitude of 0 to 5300 m at a flight speed of Mach 0.5-0.9.

To realize the flight program and control, the TRI 40 is equipped with a modern digital electro-hydromechanical control system and an onboard electric generator mounted on the turbine shaft. In addition to aviation kerosene JP8, the engine can run on synthetic high-calorie fuel JP10. The temperature of the combustion chamber is about 1010°C, the specific fuel consumption is less than 120 kg/kN/h. A feature of the TRI 40 design is the absence of a separate oil system, the bearings are lubricated by fuel.

Warhead weighing 120 kg – penetrating, high-explosive. It is equipped with a time-delay fuze that provides a multivariate detonation depending on the target type.

The control system is combined. Control in the marching part of the orbit is carried out by the inertial control system. The control system allows you to work outside the direct line of sight of the target, the missile can move along a pre-programmed complex trajectory, bypass obstacles on the terrain and in enemy air defense areas, attack the target in the most vulnerable sectors.

Correction of the missile’s flight path in the march area is performed based on data from the GPS satellite navigation subsystem and the TERCOM (Terrain Contour Matching) terrain correction subsystem. The principle of operation of TERCOM is based on comparing the topography of the specific area where the missile is located with reference maps of the topography of the terrain along the flight path, previously stored in the memory of the onboard control system.

The missile is equipped with a new tamper-proof thermal imaging homing head with increased sensitivity and expanded field of view. According to experts, this GOS will allow to detect the target even if its thermal area is reduced with the help of a universal water protection system. Autonomous target selection is performed by comparing the image of the target received from the GPS sensor with the image templates of typical targets stored in the memory of the onboard control system.

The rocket is delivered in a container measuring 4 x 0.81 x 0.8 m. The equipped weight of the container is 710 kg. The interval between scheduled inspections is 3 years, between major repairs – 5-10 years. The planned life of the missiles is 30 years.