NASAMS

Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Defense Missile System - Norway

NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) is a medium to long-range air defense missile system designed and manufactured by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace teamed up with Raytheon from the United States for the missile. Since the introduction in Norway in 2015, another four countries in NATO and the EU have acquired NASAMS. NASAMS is renowned for its use of the Raytheon AMRAAM missile but is furthermore operational with command and control of a range of guns and short and medium-range missiles, such as e.g. L-70 guns, RBS 70, and HAWK. It has also proven integration with directed-energy weapons (DEWs) and longer-range systems, such as e.g. Patriot. The NASAMS can be deployed to identify, engage and destroy aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and to protect high-value assets and mass population centers against air-to-surface threats. There are 9 official operators as of 2018, Kongsberg stated that the NASAMS is in operational use in Norway, Spain, the USA, the Netherlands, Finland, and one undisclosed customer. The system is in production for Oman, Lithuania, and Indonesia. In addition, Poland, Greece, Sweden, and Turkey operate the KONGSBERG Command and Control solution for various weapon systems. On March 13, 2019, the U.S. State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Australia of AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $240.5 million. These items are in support of Australia’s purchase of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS). In June 2019, it was announced that India has shown interest to purchase the NASAMS-II air defense missile system. On February 10, 2020, the U.S. State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of an Integrated Air Defense Weapon System (IADWS) that includes NASAMS-II for an estimated cost of $1.867 billion. In November 2020, Hungary confirmed the acquisition of NASAMS for an amount of $1 billion. On August 26, 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense released a contract of $182,295,333 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems for Ukraine. On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the delivery of two NASAMS to Ukraine. On October 26, 2022, the American company Raytheon announced that two NASAMS had been already delivered to Ukraine. On November 8, 2022, the Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder announced that two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) have been delivered to Ukraine. On January 10, 2023, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand announced that Canada is purchasing a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and associated munitions from the United States to donate to Ukraine. On March 10, 2023, the Norwegian government announced the delivery to Ukraine of two batteries of NASAMS air defense systems. Following a contract signed on June 27, 2023, with the Norwegian company Kongsberg, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense supplied two NASAMS air defense systems. In July 2023, Taiwan announced a plan to acquire the NASAMS 2 air defense missile system. On August 23, 2023, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda confirmed that Lithuania will fulfill its commitment to deliver NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Defense Missile System) air defense missile launchers to Ukraine in September 2023. On December 13, 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced the delivery to Ukraine of additional NASAMS batteries and missiles. On December 14, 2023, the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace announced the signature of a new contract with the government of Lithuania for the delivery of more NASAMS air defense systems. On February 9, 2024, the Norwegian government announced a plan to order more air defense systems NASAMS for Ukraine. On October 25, 2024, the U.S. approved a $1.16 billion sale of NASAMS air defense systems to Taiwan’s Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office. The deal, certified by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, aims to strengthen Taiwan’s air defense amid rising tensions with China.

NASAMS variants:

- NASAMS 2: an upgraded version of NASAMS that allows the use of Link 16 on NASAMS 2 as well as a better ground radar.
- NASAMS 3: is an upgraded version of the NASAMS 2 that was delivered to the Norwegian Air Force in April 2019 and tested the same year in May. It 3 comes with an updated Fire Distribution Center station, an "ADX" console that has ergonomic control surfaces, and three 30" flat-panel displays. The redesigned Mk 2 canister launcher can fire AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II short-range missiles and AMRAAM-ER missiles from its launching rails, in addition to AIM-120 AMRAAM

Launcher System

The NASAMS is equipped with three multi-missile launchers (LCHR), each carrying up to six ready-to-fire missiles inside the protective canisters. The purpose of the NASAMS Multi-Missile Launcher is to transport, aim and fire missiles with different characteristics, all mounted on the same launch rail inside the protective canisters. The NASAMS launcher carries up to six AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and is connected to the FDC (Fire Distribution Center) command post via radio and/or field wire. The mobile launcher can be deployed and remotely controlled up to 25 km away from the FDC. The launcher can fire the six AMRAAMs in seconds against six different targets enabling multiple simultaneous engagements. Up to 12 launchers with 72 missiles can be netted and all missiles are ready to fire. In the firing position, the platform with the launcher is lowered to the ground and four hydraulic jacks can be deployed to stabilize the launch pad during the firing. In a battalion configuration comprising of up to 12 launchers and up to 72 missiles loaded, all missiles can be fired against individual targets in less than 15 seconds.

Missile

The AMRAAM (AIM-120), was developed and is best known as an air-launched fire-and-forget missile deployed on the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-22, F-4F, Sea Harrier, Harrier II Plus, Eurofighter, JAS-39 Gripen, JA-37 Viggen, and the Tornado. The high-velocity AIM-120 missile is manufactured in two variants. The AIM-120B is field programmable and the AIM-120C is fitted with smaller control surfaces than the A or B variants, has a longer range, and has very high agility to counter targets making evasive maneuvers. The latest fielded version, the AIM-120C7, incorporated an upgraded antenna, receiver, signal processor, and new software algorithms to counter new threats. The use of smaller system components created room for future growth. This version is used by the NASAMS of the Norwegian army. The multi-missile launchers can also fire the missile AIM-9-X Sidewinder and the RIM-162 – ESSM. The missile can hit targets at a range of up to 40 km and at a height of up to 14 km.

Mobility

In the Norwegian army, the launcher platform (LCHR) is carried on a Scania 113H 6x6 truck, but for other armies, it can be carried on different types of trucks as the Sisu for Finland and IVECO for Spain. The LCHR is designed with transportability in mind. All elements are C-130 and helicopter transportable, can be transported by Break-bulk or Roll-On Roll-Off vessels, and do not exceed the limits of the Bern Tunnel Profile. The LCHR can be transported on different types of trucks. A hydraulic system is established on the LCHR, to load and offload the LCHR from the truck and for proper emplacement. The system can be powered from either the generator or truck and can be operated semi-automatically or manually.

Radar and Command Post

A standard NASAMS unit has a modular design including a command post called FDC Fire Distribution Center, an active 3D radar AN/MPQ64F1 Sentinel, a passive electro-optic and infra-red sensor, and several missile canister launchers with AMRAAM missiles. Normally, four NASAMS units are netted in a battalion network.

NASAMS FDC Dire Distribution Center

The FDC (Fire Distribution Center) is a proven and fielded Air Defence BMC4I (Battle Management Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence) module that provides modern BMC4I for current and future air defense missions. Read More

NASAMS Electro-Optical Sensor unit

The Electro-Optical (EO) sensor provides passive cueing data to the FDC (Fire Distribution Center) for passive engagements. Read More

NASAMS 3D Radar MPQ-64 F1

The MPQ-64 F1 Radar is a three-dimensional, phased array system that operates in the X-band to automatically detect, track, identify, classify, and report airborne threats. Read More