Leidos Australia and Kongsberg Defence Australia have entered into a memorandum of understanding to explore the integration of Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM) onto Leidos’ emerging uncrewed surface platforms, the Sea Archer and the larger Longbow variant.
The initiative seeks to demonstrate how combining the NSM with highly capable USVs could boost maritime strike reach, accelerate response capabilities, and provide greater operational adaptability.
The NSM is a long-range, sea-skimming cruise missile with autonomous target recognition and advanced terminal maneuvering designed to penetrate modern air defenses, capable of striking at ranges exceeding 300 kilometers (186 miles).
The Australian-built Sea Archer is a modular high-speed USV optimized for rapid role change across strike, EW, logistics, and ISR missions. Its AI-enabled autonomy and battle-management systems enable speeds up to 40 knots (74 km/46 mph), a 1,500-nautical-mile (2,778-km/1,726-mi) range, and payload capacity over 900 kilograms (1,984 lb).
The larger Longbow platform carries up to 3,000 kilograms (6,614 lb) and uses four 300-hp OXE diesel engines to achieve an operational range beyond 2,750 nautical miles (5,093 km/3,165 mi).
