Kongsberg and Thales Australia unveiled their StrikeMaster land-based maritime strike system during the Land Forces 2022 exhibition in Brisbane.
The system is the proposed “low-risk” solution for the second phase of Australia’s “Project Land 4100” land-based anti-ship missile program.
The StrikeMaster combines Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM) with a modified version of Thales’ Bushmaster armored vehicle for increased mobility and range.
Each system is equipped with two NSM launchers and state-of-the-art radar from CEA Technologies.
The anti-ship capability can penetrate sophisticated enemy defense systems to reach heavily-armed combat ships up to 250 kilometers away (155 miles).
According to Thales, integrating NSM launchers into the Bushmaster vehicles would provide the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with a “potent, disruptive, and proven” land-based maritime deterrent.
All StrikeMaster components can be domestically produced in Australia.
Competing System
American defense giant Lockheed Martin is also pitching its AGM-184C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile – Surface Launched mounted on an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
According to the company, the solution offers a high degree of commonality with existing ADF systems and would meet the service’s requirements for anti-ship defense.
“I think the attractive features of the surface launch and ground launched missiles are that they’re identical missile stacks,” Lockheed Martin official Dominic DeScisciolo said. “In other words, the missiles are interchangeable between the Army and Navy.”