Raytheon Company announced today that they will integrate the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) into the US Marine Corps existing force structure under a $47.59 million Other Transaction Authority agreement with Marine Corps Systems Command. A USMC NSM supports the 2018 National Defense Strategy and Commandant of the Marine Corps modernization efforts. In 2018, the U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon a contract to manufacture and deliver NSM as the Navy’s over-the-horizon weapon system for littoral combat ships and future frigates. The Marine Corps’ selection of the Navy’s anti-ship missile enhances joint interoperability and reduces costs and logistical burdens.
The Naval Strike Missiles is a long-range, precision strike missile that can detect and destroy heavily defended land and sea targets at long distances produced in partnership with Norway and its defense leader Kongsberg. A mobile, land-based NSM is deployed with Poland’s coastal defense forces. The NSM is now selected by the US Navy and Marine Corps, Norwegian, Polish and Malaysian Navies from both ships and land based coastal defence. It is an off-the-shelf and non-developmental 5th generation strike missile system that can be rapidly deployed for operational use. It meets or exceeds the U.S. Navy’s over-the-horizon requirements for survivability against high-end threats, demonstrated lethality, easy upgrades and long-range strike capability.
The Naval Strike Missiles was successfully demonstrated on the U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ship USS Coronado in 2014. Raytheon builds launchers for the Naval Strike Missile in the United States, and has plans to leverage its extensive supply base to build the missile and other components in the U.S. as well. Domestic production of this over-the-horizon solution creates American jobs and continues a tradition of building world-class defense systems with our longtime ally, Norway. It represents a world-class partnership between Raytheon, the world’s largest missile maker and Kongsberg, Norway’s premier supplier of defense systems.
