“We need to strengthen and further expand air defense to better protect civilian and military targets against airborne threats. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated how crucial air defense is in war. The cooperation arrangement with Norway’s KONGSBERG and Raytheon of the US lays the foundation for further developing the battle-tested NASAMS air defence system against future threats,” said Bjørn Arild Gram, Norway’s Minister of Defence.

NASAMS, a highly adaptable medium-range air defence solution, is jointly developed and produced by Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. Drawing on decades of experience, industrial cooperation, and significant investment made by all three parties, this new collaborative arrangement will grow the capabilities of NASAMS to ensure it keeps pace with ever-evolving complex threats.

“Today marks a key milestone in cementing NASAMS’ legacy as the world’s leading medium-range air defense system,” said Tom Laliberty, president of Land & Air Defense Systems at Raytheon. “We will continue to invest in the evolution of NASAMS to support the Norwegian Armed Forces and our allies around the globe.”

“We look forward to continuing the successful three-way collaboration between KONGSBERG, Raytheon and the Norwegian MoD to further improve NASAMS with the mobility and operational flexibility required to protect people and critical assets in the future,” said Kjetil Reiten Myhra, Executive Vice President of Integrated Defence Systems at Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

Future acquisitions of NASAMS

The Norwegian government plans to submit two air defense projects to the Storting for parliamentary approval in the forthcoming state budget 2023 revisions under the Ministry of Defence this autumn. These are Project 7821, which will acquire missiles for NASAMS air defence, and Project 1146, which will re-acquire donated main components for NASAMS. In addition, a proposal to change the scope of Project 7628 Combat Air Defence will be presented, due to previous donations.

About RTX

RTX is the world’s largest aerospace and defence company. With more than 180,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defence systems for operational success, and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2022 sales of $67 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

About Kongsberg

Kongsberg (OSE-ticker: KOG) is an international, knowledge-based group that supplies high-tech systems and solutions to customers in the energy, merchant, navy and defence and aerospace industries. Kongsberg has more than 12,000 employees in 39 countries and had total revenues of NOK 31.8bn in 2022.

Source – Norwegian Government