The Royal Navy is changing into extra deadly as September brings new developments within the deployment of two of its very important anti-ship missiles.
The Sea Venom mild anti-ship missile, carried by the Wildcat HMA2, and the ship-borne heavy anti-ship Naval Strike Missile (NSM) are hitting main milestones because the Royal Navy seeks to change into extra deadly within the anti-shipping position. For the previous few years, the Royal Navy has been reliant on its submarine functionality to tackle hostile warships.
The causes had been the mixed issues of kit leaving service and gradual growth and integration timelines of their replacements. Now, nevertheless, the Royal Navy appears to be turning a nook as its floor fleet regains the power to tackle hostile floor warships independently.
Sea Venom IOC
On Sept. 7, 2025, Wildcat HMA2 demonstrated that it’s now able to deploying Sea Venom missiles on operations as preliminary working functionality (IOC) has lastly been achieved. The weapon has been carried on operations earlier than, equivalent to in the course of the 2021 Provider Strike Group (CSG), the place a pre-IOC variant of the missile was deployed.
Nonetheless, this was solely as a weapon of final resort, owing to an absence of correct integration between the missile and the plane. With this resolved, Operation Highmast marks the primary time Sea Venom has been deployed prepared for use in fight.
There’s venom within the Wildcat’s chew…
A major milestone in direction of arming #RoyalNavy maritime assault helicopters with ship-busting missiles has been achieved throughout #CSG25.
Learn extra: pic.twitter.com/Vu64f9htzU
— Royal Navy (@RoyalNavy) October 2, 2025
The demonstration of IOC was made in the course of the Royal Navy’s present CSG mission to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In whole, 4 Wildcats have been deployed, with two working from the plane service HMS Prince of Wales, one other from Sort-45 destroyer HMS Dauntless and the fourth flying from HNoMS Roald Amundsen, a Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate of the Royal Norwegian Navy.
The deployment of a Royal Navy Wildcat to the Norwegian vessel highlights the shut integration between the 2 forces. It will additional develop because the Royal Norwegian Navy equips itself with British made Sort-26 anti-submarine frigates, which can enter service within the subsequent few years.
Three of those Wildcats took off from HMS Prince of Wales carrying a single Sea Venom every to reveal the achievement of the missile’s newest milestone. Sea Venom was initially slated to enter service in 2023, however this has been met by appreciable delays over the previous years.
The delays had been presumably partially because of France leaving this system just a few years in the past, leaving solely the British portion of MBDA missile methods to hold on its growth.
NSM Take a look at Hearth
Moreover, on Sept. 19, HMS Somerset, a Sort-23 Duke class frigate, take a look at fired the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for the primary time, serving to the Royal Navy to get better its surfaced launched anti-ship functionality that was misplaced when the Harpoon missile left service. The take a look at was carried out alongside the Norwegian and Polish militaries, who launched their very own NSMs from floor launchers located on Norway’s coast.
The goal was the ex-HNoMS Trondheim, an Oslo-class frigate of the Norwegian Navy that had been decommissioned in 2006. The ship was struck by NSMs from the three militaries testing their potence, earlier than it was completed off by a torpedo launched from a Norwegian submarine hidden beneath the waves.
ex-🇳🇴HNoMS Trondheim was the goal struck by Naval Strike Missiles fired by @HMSSomerset, HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl, HNoMS Steil and a land-based launcher throughout Train Aegir 25 in early September.
By way of @Sjoforsvaret pic.twitter.com/3VRxkFmkEl
— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) October 2, 2025
This take a look at has been a very long time coming with HMS Somerset first fitted with NSM in 2023, only a yr after its authentic buy. For presently unknown causes, the missile take a look at seemingly took round 18 months to rearrange, delaying the missiles correct entry into service.
Generally known as the Maritime Offensive Strike System (MOSS) within the Royal Navy, the NSM is deliberate to be fitted to many of the nonetheless in service Sort-23 frigates and full fleet of Sort-45 destroyers. The weapon will likely be finally changed by MBDA’s newly unveiled Stratus anti-ship/future cruise missile, someday within the 2030s.
Sea Venom
Designed by MBDA missile methods, Sea Venom was initially an Anglo-French weapon, earlier than the French dropped out of this system within the 2020s. It was initially designed to switch the Sea Skua missile, carried by the Lynx helicopter in Royal Navy service.
The weapon options a number of enhancements, equivalent to a lighter weight, longer vary of 20 km and the power for use in a hearth and neglect mode, giving the launching helicopter time to flee return fireplace.
The missile’s payload is comparatively small, round 30kg, making it primarily designed for destroying targets as much as the dimensions of a corvette. Nonetheless, its accuracy permits an operator to destroy key parts on board bigger warships, equivalent to fireplace management radars or the bridge, which can lead to a mission kill relying on the situation.
Sea Venom fills an vital area of interest, permitting the Royal Navy to defend itself from a number of swarming missile boats equivalent to these utilized by the Iranian Navy. To this finish, as much as 4 could be carried directly on the Wildcat HMA2. The mix of the 2 is extraordinarily potent because it offers Royal Navy floor ships the power to neutralise a fleet of missile boats while staying out if their vary, utilizing the stand-off distance of the missile and the helicopter collectively.
This sort of battle occurred in the course of the 1991 Gulf Struggle on the Battle of the Bubiyan Channel, the place Royal Navy Lynx helicopters destroyed 14 Iraqi vessels utilizing the Sea Skua missile. The Wildcat and the Sea Venom share this lineage, filling the identical position in future engagements.
Sea Venom provides operator-in-the-loop functionality in order that the missile could be directed mid-flight, whether or not this be for ultimate intention level adjustment, aborting an assault, or for traditional re-targeting throughout fight. This provides the Royal Navy a functionality past commonplace fireplace and neglect missiles, giving aircrew extra management over the focusing on of their weapon system via the supply of reside digital camera feeds on to the cockpit. But, the missile can nonetheless be operated in a hearth and neglect mode the place it utilises an on board infra-red seeker for focusing on.
The Sea Venom accomplished a reside fireplace take a look at in 2024, the place a single missile was launched in opposition to a static goal manufactured from delivery containers. Extra could be discovered concerning the take a look at launch in our earlier report right here at The Aviationist.
This take a look at marked an vital milestone for the missile, after years of delays as much as that time. Now, with IOC achieved, Sea Venom will likely be deployed increasingly more over the 28-strong fleet of Royal Navy Wildcats.
Naval Strike Missile
Designed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, the NSM has a 120kg warhead that’s about half the one utilized by the Harpoon missile that NSM seeks to switch. Nonetheless, its stealthy design, together with using completely passive steerage methods, permits the NSM to get via to its goal with out being detected or intercepted.
The missile doesn’t use radar for steerage, which means that the chance of a hostile detecting the oncoming missile is lowered. Because of this, this maximises the damaging potential of the missile as an opponent is much less more likely to see it coming, and so they’re additionally much less more likely to activate defensive measures.
Mixed with its sea skimming functionality, the NSM is a really potent missile, explaining its widespread adoption amongst the world’s navies and air forces.
Initially chosen in 2022 after the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine laid naked the Royal Navy’s lack of anti-surface weaponry, the NSM was chosen by then Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to fill the Interim Floor-to-Floor Guided Weapon program.
The basic Harpoon missile was by that time nearing the top of its usable life, with the final take a look at launch carried out by Sort-23 frigate HMS Westminster in 2022. The missile was formally retired in 2023, though HMS Lancaster continued to hold them for a while after because of its deployment to the Gulf area.
💥 Watch @HMSSomerset launching the Naval Strike Missile – the primary @RoyalNavy firing of the brand new ship-busting missiles, able to focusing on and destroying enemy vessels from over 100 miles away. pic.twitter.com/dj7ApKLEhm
— HMNB Devonport (@HMNBDevonport) September 29, 2025
NSM was meant to be adopted ‘at tempo’ and quickly fitted to Royal Navy warships to switch Harpoon however full adoption has been gradual. Nonetheless, the newest take a look at marks a major second for the Royal Navy because it exhibits that it’s as soon as once more in a position to interact enemy warships.
NSMs have a lot of variants, with 200km and 300km variations extending the vary at which the Royal Navy can struggle. As soon as deployed throughout the fleet, NSMs will properly complement the shorter ranged Sea Venom, giving the Navy the enamel it must struggle and win.
