Spanish Navy to receive first Naval Strike Missiles in 2027

MILAN — Spanish officials have confirmed that missile maker Kongsberg will begin deliveries of its fifth-generation Naval Strike Missiles, set to equip the Spanish Navy’s F-100 and F-110 frigates, in 2027, three years prior to the planned retirement of the fleet’s Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

“The estimated date of receipt of the first NSM will coincide with the entry into service of the first F-110 frigate,” Capt. Alfonso Carrasco Santos, who works on then Spanish naval capabilities planning staff, told Defense News in an email. Local shipbuilder Navantia is expected to deliver the first ship in 2027.

Carrasco Santos added that the Harpoons will remain in service until the complete delivery of the NSM weapons. He did not disclose the exact number of missiles to be acquired, saying only that the amount “will be necessary to satisfy our strategic needs.”

The new missile type is designed to destroy sea and land targets at distances over 115 miles, which exceeds the Harpoon range by roughly one-third. It flies just above water level to evade defenses and relies on inertial, GPS and terrain-reference navigation as well as imaging infrared homing.

There has been little to no confirmed information regarding the value of contracts and the overall number of Harpoons Spain has bought over the years, making it difficult to shed light on how many will need to be replaced.

Industry sources have estimated that the country would have purchased at least around several dozen, more or less 36 Harpoons, each valued at over $1 million.

Harpoon missiles were first fitted on the F-30 series of Descubierta-class corvettes built for the Spanish Navy in the late 1970s. They also equip the F-100 Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates, which have two four-celled anti-ship missiles, and the F-80 Santa María-class frigates, which feature a single-armed Mk13 missile launcher able to hold eight Harpoon missiles.

The Harpoon missiles are also operated by the Spanish Air Force in their F-18 Hornets, in the AGM-84 variant for aircraft. In air-to-surface operations, once launched, the weapon flies towards the target area where it connects its own search sensor, locating and destroying the target without the launcher having to act again.

Last month, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov claimed that Madrid had provided Kyiv with an undisclosed number of Harpoon missiles.

Once delivered, Madrid will become the ninth operator of the Naval Strike Missile, which outside of Norway is also in use in Poland, Germany, Canada, Australia, the United States and Romania.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on June 1 to correct the range of the Naval Strike Missile.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——西班牙官员证实，导弹制造商康斯伯格将于 2027 年开始交付其第五代海军打击导弹，该导弹将装备西班牙海军的 F-100 和 F-110 护卫舰，比该舰队计划退役的“鱼叉”反舰导弹提前三年。

“预计首艘NSM的交付日期将与首艘F-110护卫舰的服役日期一致，”时任西班牙海军能力规划人员的阿方索·卡拉斯科·桑托斯上校在给《防务新闻》的电子邮件中表示。西班牙本土造船厂纳凡蒂亚预计将于2027年交付首舰。

卡拉斯科·桑托斯补充说，在NSM导弹全部交付之前，鱼叉导弹将继续服役。他没有透露将采购的导弹的确切数量，只表示数量“将满足我们的战略需求”。

这种新型导弹旨在摧毁115英里（约185公里）以外的海陆目标，射程比“鱼叉”导弹大约长三分之一。它贴着水面飞行以躲避防御系统，并依靠惯性导航、GPS导航、地形参考导航以及成像红外制导。

多年来，关于合同价值和西班牙购买的鱼叉总数，几乎没有确切的信息，因此很难说明需要更换多少台鱼叉。

业内人士估计，该国至少购买了数十支，大约 36 支“鱼叉”导弹防御系统，每支系统的价值超过 100 万美元。

鱼叉导弹最早于 20 世纪 70 年代末安装在西班牙海军建造的 F-30 系列“发现者”级轻型护卫舰上。它们也装备在 F-100 “阿尔瓦罗·德·巴赞”级护卫舰上，该舰配备两枚四联装反舰导弹；以及 F-80 “圣玛丽亚”级护卫舰上，该舰配备一门单臂 Mk13 导弹发射器，可携带八枚鱼叉导弹。

西班牙空军的F-18“大黄蜂”战斗机也装备了“鱼叉”导弹，使用的是AGM-84型机载导弹。在空对地作战中，导弹发射后会飞向目标区域，并与自身的搜索传感器连接，无需发射机再次操作即可定位并摧毁目标。

上个月，乌克兰国防部长奥列克西·列兹尼科夫声称，马德里向基辅提供了数量不详的“鱼叉”导弹。

交付后，马德里将成为海军打击导弹的第九个用户，除挪威外，波兰、德国、加拿大、澳大利亚、美国和罗马尼亚也在使用该导弹。

编者按：本文已于 6 月 1 日更新，以更正海军打击导弹的射程。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。