Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has signed a contract with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (FMA) to upgrade the radars on the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) air defense system.
NASAMS is a mobile system with high operational flexibility for the protection of assets such as air bases, ports, armed forces or populated areas. It is in use in 13 countries, including Norway, US and Ukraine.
For several years Norway has deployed the NASAMS air defense system, which consists of launch units with missiles, command and control stations, radars and electro-optical sensors. Now the radars, called AN/MPQ-64, are to be upgraded by replacing certain parts.
The contract for upgrading new NASAMS radars has a value of NOK 365 million. The first radar is being upgraded by the manufacturer Raytheon Missile and Defense, who will also supply the upgrade modules. Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services will be responsible for the remaining upgrades of the radars.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Brigadier General Jarle Nergård, Head of the Air Systems Division at FMA, said: “The purpose of the upgrade is to ensure that the NASAMS air defense system maintains its ability to detect, identify and combat air threats. The upgrade will give the NASAMS radars the same configuration and status as our partners and with the same functionality of new radars. This upgrade contributes to a further modernization of Norway’s air defense.”
Kjetil Myhra, Executive Vice President Integrated Defense Systems at Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, said: “The planned upgrades continue the development of NASAMS and take advantage of advances developed in collaboration with other NASAMS user nations. The large and increasing number of NASAMS users contributes to the continuous development of the system.”
