Norway’s government plans to order ten more NASAMS launch units and four fire control centres from Kongsberg for donation to Ukraine.
“The Norwegian NASAMs system saves Ukrainian lives and prevent the destruction of buildings and infrastructure,” said Norwegian Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram in a statement.
“The Russian missile and drone attacks are extensive and brutal, so air defence is absolutely decisive for Ukraine. At the same time, I am concerned that we reacquire air defences for our own defence as quickly as possible.”
This order is subject to approval by the Norwegian Parliament. Norway plans to repurchase equipment that has already been donated to Ukraine.
NASAMS – Norwegian/National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System - is a widely used ground-based short to medium range air defence system, based around the also widely used AMRAAM missile which is normally aircraft launched.
It was jointly developed by Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace of Norway and US firm Raytheon.
Norway, the US, Canada and Lithuania have all donated NASAMS to Ukraine. The first systems were operational by the end of 2022 with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declaring NASAMS had a 100 per cent success rate in intercepting Russian missiles.
This successful battle testing is good news for Australia. The Australian Defence Force is acquiring three NASAMS Fire Units, each comprising missile launchers each with six missiles, radar sensors and a Command and Control centre, under the $1.23 billion project LAND17 Phase 7B. Prime contractor is Raytheon Australia.
Could Australia donate NASAMS to Ukraine, perhaps in place of the retired fleet of ADF MRH-90 helicopters requested by Ukraine? It would appear most unlikely.
For one thing Australian NASAMS is different to other NASAMS, employing an Australian CEA Tactical radar in place of the Raytheon AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel. Final operational capability is planned for mid-2026.
Australia has donated a range of equipment to Ukraine, principally the well-regarded Bushmaster vehicles, as well as munitions, artillery and counter-drone systems worth around $900 million.