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Leidos Australia and Kongsberg partner to advance uncrewed surface vessels strike
Leidos Australia and Kongsberg partner to integrate the Naval Strike Missile onto Leidos's Sea Archer uncrewed surface vessels to advance a sovereign maritime strike capability.
www.leidos.com
Building on Leidos’ proven success in launching missiles from unmanned vessels, the partnership aims to demonstrate how integrating the NSM with advanced USVs could extend the reach, responsiveness and adaptability of maritime strike possibilities.
Kongsberg’s ship-based NSM is a sea-skimming, precision-guided cruise missile capable of engaging targets at a range of more than 300 km. Designed for survivability, the NSM features autonomous target recognition and advanced terminal manoeuvres to evade modern defences.
Sea Archer, currently under construction in Australia, is a high-speed, long-range USV designed to support modular payloads for strike, electronic warfare, logistics resupply and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). Equipped with Leidos’ advanced autonomy software and AI-powered battle management technologies, the vessel reaches speeds up to 40 knots, has a range of 1,500 nautical miles and supports a payload of over 900 kg.
The larger Longbow variant has an increased payload capacity of 3,000 kgs and is powered by four (4) OXE marine diesel engines with 300 horsepower supporting a range in excess of 2,750 nautical miles.
Currently at the proof-of-concept stage, there is potential to explore NSM integration with a variety of Leidos USVs. Further development and integrated payload capabilities are being trialled both in the US and in Australia in 2026.
www.leidos.com
Kongsberg’s ship-based NSM is a sea-skimming, precision-guided cruise missile capable of engaging targets at a range of more than 300 km. Designed for survivability, the NSM features autonomous target recognition and advanced terminal manoeuvres to evade modern defences.
Sea Archer, currently under construction in Australia, is a high-speed, long-range USV designed to support modular payloads for strike, electronic warfare, logistics resupply and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). Equipped with Leidos’ advanced autonomy software and AI-powered battle management technologies, the vessel reaches speeds up to 40 knots, has a range of 1,500 nautical miles and supports a payload of over 900 kg.
The larger Longbow variant has an increased payload capacity of 3,000 kgs and is powered by four (4) OXE marine diesel engines with 300 horsepower supporting a range in excess of 2,750 nautical miles.
Currently at the proof-of-concept stage, there is potential to explore NSM integration with a variety of Leidos USVs. Further development and integrated payload capabilities are being trialled both in the US and in Australia in 2026.
www.leidos.com
