The Norwegian Ministry of Defence said it will upgrade the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System or NASAMS under a new cooperative agreement with Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
Raytheon and Kongsberg jointly develop and manufacture NASAMS as a versatile medium-range air defense solution.
According to Kongsberg’s website, NASAMS has continued to evolve since its introduction and has a customer base of 12 countries, with deployments both in their respective army and air forces.
Bjorn Arild Gram, Norway’s defense minister, said the cooperation agreement “lays the foundation for further developing the battle-tested NASAMS air defense system against future threats.” The Ukraine war has shown how crucial air defense is, demonstrating the need to strengthen the capability further, he added.
Tom Laliberty, Raytheon’s president of land and air defense systems, called the agreement as “key” to preserving NASAMS’ legacy as the world’s leading medium-range air defense system. He said Raytheon will continue its investment in the evolution of NASAMS to support the Norwegian military and U.S. allies.
For Kjetil Reiten Myhra, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace executive vice president of integrated defense systems, the three-way collaboration among Kongsberg, Raytheon and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence is a step forward in NASAMS gaining more “mobility and operational flexibility required to protect people and critical assets in the future.”