High-priced firepower bombards target ship

For both Norway and the U.S. Navy, the firing of a Norwegian Naval Strike Missile during Rim of the Pacific war games was a big deal.

Thursday’s launch was the first operational "war shot" test of the 13-foot cruise missile, and first tropical evaluation of the weapon that could add significant firepower to the U.S. Navy’s controversial "littoral combat ships" in Asia and the Pacific, officials said.

The RIMPAC test will be followed up in September by the firing of a Naval Strike Missile from the littoral combat ship USS Coronado off the coast of California, according to Norwegian officials.

The cruise missile was part of a fusillade fired at the retired 569-foot amphibious transport dock ship USS Ogden 63 miles northwest of Kauai as part of a SINKEX (sink exercise).

It’s a rare opportunity for RIMPAC nations to unleash at a Navy hulk some of the costly firepower they usually only simulate firing.

The South Korean submarine Lee Sun Sin fired a Harpoon missile; the Norwegian frigate Fridtjof Nansen launched the Naval Strike and Evolved SeaSparrow missiles; the Pearl Harbor-based cruiser USS Chosin fired a Harpoon; F/A-18 and P-3 aircraft also fired missiles; and Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 Raptors fired 20 mm cannons.

An Air Force B-52 bomber even dropped a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb onto the Ogden, the Navy said.

The Navy put the cost for a Harpoon Block II at $1.2 million.

"Participating in a Harpoon missile firing exercise is a rare occurrence, a once-in-a-career occasion for most," said Capt. Patrick Kelly, commander of the Chosin. "Chosin’s combat team regularly runs drills with simulated targets and shots. Although their training is effective, the majority of my sailors have never had the chance to participate in a Harpoon live fire."

The SINKEX started at 8 a.m. Thursday, the Ogden capsized at about 4:30 p.m., and the ship, whose paint had turned pinkish in sections during its time spent in the inactive fleet shipyard, finally sank at 7:28 p.m., according to the Navy.

Ships are sunk in waters at least 6,000 feet deep and at least 57 miles from land, and only after the area has been surveyed for marine mammals, the Navy said. The ocean is about 15,000 feet deep where the Ogden was sunk, an official said.

A second SINKEX is scheduled for Monday, this time involving the retired USS Tuscaloosa, a 522-foot tank landing ship. As part of greater maritime cooperation with the Navy, the Army is sending OH-58 Kiowa Warrior and AH-64E Apache helicopters that will fire weapons including the Apache’s Hellfire missiles.

The Norwegian frigate fired the Naval Strike Missile from about 57 miles out (about half its maximum range) as the second nation after South Korea to shoot at the Ogden, officials said.

When the missile penetrated the hull, smoke poured out passageways over nearly the length of the ship.

"The firing was a success," said Sgt. Marthe Brendefur, a crew member on the Fridtjof Nansen and a spokes­woman for the ship. "The main focus for this firing was to demonstrate that the (Naval Strike Missile) will function just as well in tropical as in arctic conditions, which it does."

A YouTube video of a past Naval Strike Missile test on a retired military ship target showed a large section of the superstructure being dramatically blown away by the sea-skimming missile.

Brendefur said in Thursday’s firing the missile was programmed to detonate inside the Ogden’s hull.

"Because we have this precision, we can decide where the missile will engage on a ship," said Rear Adm. Lars Saunes, chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy.

A variant of the missile is being developed for use in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

"I think that this is a unique missile that the Norwegian defense industry has developed with regard to precision and recognition (identification) of targets that you don’t find in the market today, and I think that is why a lot of nations are interested in the missile," Saunes said.