Norway boosts defence capabilities with major missile contracts
The Norwegian Ministry of Defence has signed contracts with the domestic company Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace to increase the production volume of Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) and to accelerate the production of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) kits.
On Friday, March 15, the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (part of Kongsberg Gruppen) announced the signing of two contracts with the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Norway to increase the production volume of NSM (Naval Strike Missile) anti-ship missiles and to speed up the production of NASAMS (Norwegian/National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) kits.
The first contract, valued at about £80 million, is a Norwegian government investment commitment for critical part orders for the production of NASAMS air defence systems, aimed at accelerating the delivery schedule of launcher units upon signing new contracts. However, the investment agreement must still be presented to the Norwegian parliament for consideration.
The last contract for the purchase of additional NASAMS kits with guided ammunition, valued at about £119 million, was signed on January 31st this year. It anticipates deliveries in the years 2026-2027.
"We must increase Norway's air defence capabilities to more effectively protect both civilian and military targets from air attacks. The current security climate requires the acceleration of the purchase of advanced air defence systems. The conflict in Ukraine has highlighted the fundamental importance of air defence in times of war," said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in a government press release.
"Kongsberg has already allocated nearly £284 million to increase our own production capabilities in air and missile defence systems. We welcome the government initiative to introduce new investment plans," said Geir Håøy, CEO of Kongsberg Gruppen.
NASAMS kits are currently used in the armed forces of 13 countries and are supplied by KDA in cooperation with the American company Raytheon (part of RTX Corporation).
"We have observed an extension of delivery times. To address this, we are now ordering critical parts to accelerate future NASAMS orders. Extended delivery periods are a common problem in the defence industry and this initiative is expected to shorten production time," said Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram.
"This government initiative will allow us to accelerate NASAMS deliveries after finalizing new contracts. This gives us the chance to secure critical components with a long delivery schedule earlier than previously possible," noted Eirik Lie, CEO of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
The second contract, valued at over £60 million, envisages investment in the production capacity of anti-ship NSM missiles. Part of the funds come from the Norwegian government – £17 million, and part from the European Union with the ASAP (Act in Support of Ammunition Production) program – around £9 million, in which Norway is also a payer. The remaining funds are company-owned.
In recent years, KDA has implemented a number of measures aimed at increasing production capacities, such as investing in a new missile production facility in the city of Kongsberg, which will be opened this summer. Now KDA's capabilities are expected to increase further with the support of the EU and Norway.
The KDA investment includes equipment and machinery to increase efficiency in the new facility, as well as a new facility to increase production capacity for sensors. In addition, part of the funds will be allocated to support the supply chain, to ensure future contracts.
"The support of the Norwegian and European authorities contributes to our capability to implement specific measures to further strengthen Kongsberg's missile production capacity, shorten the execution time, and streamline the supply chain," says Eirik Lie, president of KDA.
The NSM anti-ship missiles Block 1A were developed at the beginning of the 21st century and were delivered to the Norwegian armed forces in the years 2011–2015 as Nytt sjømålsmissil. Currently, NSM missiles are in the armament of the armed forces of 14 countries (including 11 from NATO and the EU), which can include: Poland, Latvia, Australia, Belgium, Spain (selected on September 9, 2022), Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Germany, Norway (additional missiles ordered on December 22, 2022), the Kingdom of the Netherlands (December 12, 2022), Romania, USA (US Navy and USMC), the United Kingdom (November 23, 2022), and potentially Ukraine.
In the future, the NSM missiles are to be integrated with the European multi-launch rocket system EuroPULS, based on the Israeli project. An aerial variant JSM (Joint Strike Missile), which Norway and Japan have decided to purchase, has also been developed. In October last year, a concept of the NSM variant launched from submarines, NSM-SL (Submarine Launched), namely from 21-inch torpedo tubes, was presented.
Currently, Norway and Germany are working on a new supersonic anti-ship missile codenamed 3SM (SuperSonic Strike Missile) Tyrfing. KDA has been named the main integrator of the program.
