HMS Portland fires new ship-busting missile in Atlantic Thunder climax
The Type 23 frigate’s operational Naval Strike Missile firing, a Sea Venom launch from a Wildcat helicopter and a torpedo strike from a submarine sank the former USS Klakring off Scotland.
HMS Portland has fired an operational Naval Strike Missile during Exercise Atlantic Thunder, the Royal Navy announced on Tuesday, in the live-fire climax of the exercise off Scotland.
The Type 23 frigate’s firing was the centrepiece of a coordinated strike on the former USS Klakring, a decommissioned US Navy frigate used as the target vessel. A Wildcat helicopter of 815 Naval Air Squadron also fired a Sea Venom missile at the hulk during the serial.
“The successful firing of NSM marks a significant milestone for the Royal Navy, demonstrating our ability to deliver credible, modern maritime strike capability,” said Lieutenant Commander Louise Kirkaldy.
The successful firing of NSM marks a significant milestone for the Royal Navy, demonstrating our ability to deliver credible, modern maritime strike capability.Lieutenant Commander Louise Kirkaldy, Royal Navy, 29 September 2026
The exercise, which concluded on 25 September, brought together Royal Navy warships, helicopters and allied units for high-end warfighting serials in waters off the Scottish coast.
The final blow to the target was delivered from beneath the waves: the submarine USS Massachusetts fired a Mk 48 torpedo that sank the former Klakring, completing the destruction of the hulk.
The Naval Strike Missile is the Royal Navy’s new ship-busting weapon, and the firing marks a step change in the lethality available to the fleet’s frigates and destroyers.
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