Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace has opened a new factory for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) and Joint Strike Missile (JSM) in Kongsberg, Norway.
The new factory was officially opened by Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth at a ceremony, together with State Secretary Anne Marie Aanerud of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence and representatives from various NSM and JSM user nations.
The opening of the new facility significantly increases Kongsberg’s missile production capacity.
“The interest in NSM and JSM has grown over the past decade and is now the leading fifth generation strike missile in 13 countries, including Norway, NATO countries and other close allies,” said Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
“This facility increases the annual output rate for NSM and JSM exponentially,” Lie added.
The process to construct the new plant started in 2021, in response to a steady increase in orders for Kongsberg’s strike missiles. Earlier this year, the company received funding from the Norwegian government and the EU’s ASAP programme to further expand production capacity.
The new missile plant lies in the Arsenalet industrial park in Kongsberg, the company’s production and assembly site, which is being expanded to 90,000 sqm to host 1,200 skilled employees.