The littoral combat ship USS Coronado will get a chance at an historic LCS first this fall when it launches a surface to surface missile in tests off Southern California.
The US Navy confirmed this week that the Coronado is scheduled to test launch the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) off Point Mugu, California, where the Naval Air Warfare Center maintains an extensively instrumented missile range.
The test will follow a successful NSM launch July 10 from the Norwegian frigate Fridtjof Nansen during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises near Hawaii. The frigate fired a single NSM at the decommissioned amphibious ship Ogden and scored a direct hit.
"The planned September live firing demonstration aboard USS Coronado (LCS 4) of the Naval Strike Missile under the Foreign Comparative Testing Program will test the ship's feasibility to execute an increased anti surface warfare role," Lt. Kurt Larson, a spokesman with the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington, said in a statement.
"Additionally, it will provide insights into the weapon's stated capabilities of increased range, survivability and lethality.
"While there is currently no requirement for this capability aboard LCS, we view the demonstration as an opportunity to test a possible future warfighting tool," Larson added.
For now, the US Navy is not committing to anything beyond the September tests.
"At this time, there are no further tests planned for the NSM or similar weapons," said Lt. Jackie Pau, a Navy spokesperson at the Pentagon.
"The demonstration is not to integrate it into the ship but to launch it, and to explore the concept of operations for launching a missile that can go far from an LCS," he explained, noting the LCS is not fitted with long range fire control systems.
"If I can shoot 100 miles, but I can't see a target at 100 miles, then that may or may not be the right missile for that ship," Ladner explained.
"If we can figure out how to solve the detect to engage sequence then that might be the right candidate."
But, he added, "maybe the right answer is a shorter range missile that goes closer to what the ship can detect organically. That is what the Navy is looking at right now to understand where we really want to go for this ship class."
Coronado's launch of the NSM will be the first ever firing of a surface to surface missile from an LCS, NAVSEA confirmed.
To date, only the first LCS, Freedom, has launched a missile. The ship fired a Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), intended for close-in point defense, during a 2009 test and in fleet exercises in 2010.
NSM will be a great addition to LCS, even better than the harpoons, and will increase LCS's striking range.
