StrikeMaster fires Naval Strike Missile in Norway — milestone for Australia’s land-based coastal strike

StrikeMaster Validates Land-Based NSM Capability with Successful Live Firing in Norway

Mohd Hanif Ismail - : Oct 27, 2025 - : 8:16 pm

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KONGSBERG Defence & Aerospace and Thales Australia have taken a major step towards fielding a land-based maritime strike option for the Indo-Pacific after a StrikeMaster launcher — a Bushmaster-based utility variant modified to carry KONGSBERG’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM) — successfully fired an NSM test munition at a Norwegian range on 23 October 2025. The live launch, described by the manufacturers as a clean and safe demonstration using a blast test vehicle, proved the launcher sequence and the integration between the Bushmaster platform and the NSM booster.

StrikeMaster is KONGSBERG’s Australian configuration of its established NSM Coastal Defence System (CDS), pairing a twin-pack NSM launcher with a Fire Control Centre and a missile resupply vehicle — all based on the well-proven Thales Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle. The system mirrors concepts already being fielded in the region (notably the USMC’s NMESIS ground-based anti-ship missile programme) and is being promoted as a low-risk, sovereignly built solution for Australia’s Land 8113 long-range strike requirement.

According to the original KONGSBERG media release, the firing activity was intended to validate safe sequencing and mechanical integration ahead of guided-flight trials; the companies characterised the shot as a deliberate and conservative milestone rather than a final weapons release. The press release is explicit that the test used a blast test vehicle — essentially the NSM’s booster motor and related components configured to verify launch dynamics without a guided warhead — a standard step in live-fire validation.

Beyond proving the launcher mechanics, the programme’s industrial plan underlines its regional significance. KONGSBERG and Thales say the StrikeMaster NSM CDS will be produced in Australia, with manufacturing to take place across KONGSBERG Defence Australia and Thales Australia facilities in Adelaide and Bendigo. The partners expect the initiative to draw on more than 150 local suppliers and to create or retain roughly 700 Australian jobs, while KONGSBERG’s new missile factory near Newcastle is slated to begin NSM deliveries in 2027. Those sovereign-industry assurances have been central to Canberra’s procurement calculus and to exportability arguments for friendly partner nations in the Indo-Pacific.

Technically, the NSM is a mature subsonic anti-ship and land-attack cruise missile featuring an imaging-infrared seeker, GPS-aided INS and terrain-contour matching for littoral operations; published reporting places the NSM unit cost in the order of magnitude of US$2.2 million (FY2021), underlining its role as a precision-engagement weapon rather than a cheap long-range rocket. The combination of sea-skimming flight, manoeuvring terminal profiles and an onboard target database makes NSM both survivable and discriminating in congested coastal environments.

StrikeMaster’s demonstrated launchability from a protected, wheeled Bushmaster chassis matters for several reasons. First, it offers a relatively mobile, low-signature coastal-denial and anti-access capability that land forces — rather than navies alone — can employ to complicate adversary approaches. Second, the Australian manufacturing commitment strengthens regional supply chains and offers a template for partners seeking sovereign supply and local industry offsets. Finally, parallels with US and allied ground-based anti-ship deployments mean the StrikeMaster could be interoperable with broader coalition concepts for littoral defence and distributed force posture across Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands.

For those littoral states that face mounting pressure to defend archipelagic waters, the appeal is clear: a road-mobile launcher built on a protected vehicle offers a cost-effective way to field long-range anti-ship firepower without the political and budgetary overhead of new surface combatants. That said, acquisition decisions will hinge on doctrine, basing and escalation-management considerations: ground-based anti-ship missiles raise hard questions about targeting, rules of engagement and crisis stability in congested sea lanes.

KONGSBERG and Thales present the October firing as one milestone among several on the path to a fielded, exportable system. If the StrikeMaster offering is selected under Australia’s Land 8113 Phase 2 programme it will be manufactured in Australia and — per the companies — positioned as a sovereign option for partners across the Indo-Pacific seeking to bolster coastal denial, survivable strike and industrial capability in the coming decade.