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Kongsberg demonstrates containerised ‘NSM in a box’

Kongsberg has turned its Naval Strike Missile into a plug-in mission module. A standard 6 m (20 ft) ISO container now holds four NSM canisters, an elevating launcher, blast management, a generator, and electronics, with only mission planning handled externally. The company fired an NSM ballistic test vehicle from the prototype on October 1 at a Norwegian range, then ran a restrained firing to validate how the box handles the launch blast. Kongsberg funded the work itself to cut development time and engineering risk for future customers.

The Read: Navies and armies increasingly want weapons they can move between platforms instead of building them into one hull. A containerized NSM can go on a truck for coastal defense, be redeployed to a ground site, or fit on crewed and uncrewed vessels, and Kongsberg says the test leaves it better placed to brief shipbuilders on deck footprint, securing points, and fly-out angles. With NSM already in service or on order with 15 customers at ranges beyond 250 km (155 mi), the module lowers the barrier for any navy that wants long-range strike without a new warship. The next milestone to watch is a first customer order.

NSM containerised module during Kongsberg’s demonstration in Norway, October 2026 \\ Source: Kongsberg

\\ Signal Watch

Helsing unveils Contra air defence system and two interceptors to counter mass attacks \\ Defence Industry Europe

Helsing has unveiled Contra, an AI-controlled air defence system built on its Altra command-and-control platform, which fuses sensor data into a single air picture and coordinates weapons against what the company says could be hundreds or thousands of simultaneous drone and missile threats, with human operators keeping control over decisions and target priorities. Alongside it come two container-launched interceptors: the jet-powered AD-1 Inferno, designed to loiter, operate in swarms, and make repeated engagement attempts, and the solid-rocket AD-2 Ambush, which Helsing says reaches Mach 2.5 with a range exceeding 20 km (12 mi). Both get mid-course guidance from Contra’s ground radars and carry their own radar seekers for all-weather terminal guidance. Helsing says Contra can also integrate third-party interceptors, lasers, guns, and nets within days, and is already demonstrating several such integrations to military customers. The interceptors will be built at Helsing’s Resilience Factories, but the company has not disclosed unit prices or flight test results, and the images released so far are renders.

Helsing’s AD-1 Inferno and AD-2 Ambush interceptors \\ Source: Helsing

\\ Quick Links

Land & Aviation

FAA backs flight tests of JetZero’s top-mounted engines \\ AeroTime

China’s H-6 bomber spotted with a new large jamming pod \\ Defence Blog

U.S. Army tests smoke screen built to blind enemy radar \\ Defence Blog

Hardened Shelters Critical To Survival Of USAF’s Tanker Fleet: Study \\ TWZ

The Miniaturization of Military Robots \\ Small Wars Journal

Drones & Counter-Drone

Czech firm develops patrol drone armed with interceptors \\ Defence Blog

Cargo drone shoots down multiple attack drones with laser-guided rockets \\ AeroTime

Shotgun-armed drone gets Pentagon green light \\ Defence Blog

Army unit experimenting with small drones for ‘tailored cyber effects’ \\ Breaking Defense

German drone maker unveils armed version of its Reliant spy drone \\ Defence Blog

Drones With Microphones Add A New Dimension To Ukraine Conflict \\ Forbes

Space, Naval & Strategy

From Concept to Sea Trials in Six Months: France Fast-Tracks SMOKERS Kamikaze USV \\ Naval News

BAE tests deck launcher that can reload at sea \\ UKDJ

Aksungur UCAV drops aselBUOY sonobuoys for the first time \\ Naval News

Top U.S. general says AI will change how America fights its wars \\ Defence Blog

DIA Releases Clearest Image of China’s Reusable Spaceplane with Service Module Attached \\ The Aviationist

❝

“Despite the advent of drones and data of AI and autonomy, it is not enough to simply out-innovate those who would wish us harm, though we must. We must also outproduce them too, because advantage increasingly belongs to those who can manufacture at scale and field capability fastest.”

Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Defence

\\ Beyond the Beam

Britain told it can lead world in metamaterials \\ UKDJ
Engineers use sound to identify potential catastrophic drone failures \\ TechXplore
Engineers develop stealthy, low-cost tech to detect drones \\ TechXplore
US team develops device that powers battery-free sensors for at least 24 hours \\ Interesting Engineering

Clearest Image of China’s Reusable Spaceplane released by DIA \\ Source:Vantor

\\ Opportunity Intel

EXCLUSIVE: SOUTHCOM chief seeks unmanned river solution as he embraces autonomy \\ Breaking Defense
SOCOM seeks common PaaS environment to support testing and fielding of new tech \\ DefenseScoop
Pentagon Launches 120-Day “Sprint” to Field Counter-UAS Armed USVs \\ Naval News
Space Force Wants Cislunar Kit Ready to Launch by 2029 \\ Air & Space Forces Magazine
Qatar looks to bolster its military power with new hub, partnerships \\ Defence One
India clears $22bn defence acquisition plans with 82% local sourcing \\ Army Technology
NATO opens its contracts to Ukraine’s defense industry \\ Defence Blog
Gen. Caine urges defense logistics leaders to be ‘creative and entrepreneurial’ ahead of future fights \\ DefenseScoop
Army designates 2 additional ‘permissive’ sites for commercial vendors to test their drone and counter-drone tech \\ DefenseScoop
How the Pentagon wants to buy cyber outcomes, not equipment \\ Breaking Defense
DoD's 'Project Agincourt' aims to accelerate autonomous warfare acquisition \\ Military Aerospace
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