Raytheon has been awarded a contract by the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) to provide international high-mobility launchers (HMLs) for its national advanced surface-to-air missile system (NASAMS).
The multi-million dollar contract has been awarded under the NASAMS Robustness Programme to upgrade, modernise and sustain RNoAF’s NASAMS.
The contract follows a NKr360m ($61.8m) contract awarded to Kongsberg last month to deliver an upgrade of the NASAMS air defence system to the Norwegian Air Force.
The international HML is capable of loading up to six AMRAAM missiles mounted on a High-Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), and will provide a highly mobile, quick-reaction, easily deployable solution when added to NASAMS.
The lightweight missile launch platform will provide current and future NASAMS users with increased air defence capability, for protecting high-value assets and manoeuvring forces, including C-130 roll-on and roll-off agility.
Raytheon also provides an electronics upgrade for the canister launcher fleet that enables common launch electronics for both canister and HMLs, thereby reducing life-cycle and maintenance costs.
The NASAMS is a network-centric medium to long-range air defence system, has a modular design equipped with a command post FDC, an active 3D radar AN/MPQ64F1Sentinel, a passive electro-optic and infra-red sensor, and missile canister launchers with AMRAAM missiles.
The system featuring advanced sensors, command, control and communication systems, and missile technology maximises the war-fighter’s ability to identify, engage and destroy current and evolving opponent aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or cruise missile threats.
NASAMS, fielded by Norway for over a decade, is also deployed in the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Chile and the US.
The upgraded Kongsberg and Raytheon-built system is scheduled for delivery within a two-year timeframe
Image Caption: NASAMS is equipped with advanced sensors, command, control and communication systems, and missile technology to identify, engage and destroy threats. Photo courtesy:Jorgh.
