Ukraine to Produce NASAMS Missiles as Norway’s Kongsberg Sets Up Joint Venture

Norwegian defense company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace plans to manufacture missiles for NASAMS air defense systems in Ukraine, aiming to produce hundreds of them, company president Eirik Lie told Euractiv in an interview on February 28.

“We are currently establishing a company in Ukraine. We are in close negotiations with representatives of the Ukrainian defense industry to create a joint venture. Our top priority is increasing missile production for our air defense system in Ukraine, utilizing Ukrainian technology,” Lie said.

According to him, the project involves mass missile production and the potential to set up joint ventures with Ukraine within a few months.

“In the long term, once the war ends, Ukraine could become part of the supply chain for air defense missiles. There are many innovations happening in Ukraine right now, and we want to be part of them. It is important for us to be there,” he added.

NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a Norwegian mobile air defense system capable of launching 72 missiles in just 12 seconds. It is used to intercept aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles within a range of up to 40 km.

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The complex includes launchers, radars (radars) Raytheon AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel from the Raytheon and Kongsberg consortium.

The main tactical unit of NASAMS is a battery. It is known from open sources that Ukraine has about 12 batteries at its disposal.

The composition of a battery can vary, but it usually consists of three firing units, each of which includes 2 to 3 missile launchers, one AN/MPQ-64F1 Improved Sentinel radar, one control vehicle, and one vehicle with an MSP500 optical station.

Each mobile launcher has six containers with anti-aircraft missiles. The firing range of the anti-aircraft system in the NASAMS II configuration is up to 25 km, and the altitude range is up to 14-15 km.

The latest version of the NASAMS III system is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 40 km.

The air defense system uses short- and medium-range air-to-air missiles, such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM, to engage air targets.

The AIM-120 is one of the most widely used air-to-air missiles in the world. The stock of manufactured missiles of this family exceeds the number of any other missiles in its class.

Earlier, reports emerged that NASAMS air defense systems had proven highly effective in Ukraine, shooting down approximately 900 Russian aerial threats with a success rate of 94%.