USS Oakland installs Naval Strike Missile
Pictured on 9 December 2021, USS Oakland finishes installation of a Naval Strike Missile launch frame. (Photo: USN/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Vance Hand)
A fifth Independence-class LCS vessel has been equipped with the Kongsberg/Raytheon Naval Strike Missile.
The USN announced on 10 December that the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Oakland is now armed with the Naval Strike Missile (NSM).
Installation of the NSM launch module was completed on 9 December at Naval Base San Diego.
‘The addition of the NSM bolsters LCS capabilities to engage with ships in addition to the ship’s mission module,’ the USN noted in a statement. The subsonic sea-skimming missile (made by Kongsberg and Raytheon) has a range of 100nmi.
Besides Oakland, four other Independence-class LCS vessels are armed with the NSM: USS Jackson, USS Charleston, USS Gabrielle Giffords and USS Tulsa.
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