Norway will transfer elements of the NASAMS air defense system to Ukraine
12 July, 2023 AIM-120 missile launch from NASAMS. Photo credits: Aldrimer.no As part of a new defense aid package, the Norwegian government will transfer elements of the NASAMS air defense system to Ukraine.
The news was published on Norway's government website. The aid package includes two additional command posts, two launchers, and spare parts. The new equipment will allow the Ukrainian air defense forces to provide greater resistance to massive missile attacks and flexibility in defense formation.
"Air defense is a priority need from the Ukrainian side. Ukraine needs protection from Russian aircraft and missile attacks. The system's good operational results mean that air defense in general and NASAMS, in particular, are very desirable from the Ukrainian side," says Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram.
The terms of the transfer of the above-mentioned equipment are not announced.
Interior of the command post of the NASAMS air defense system. Photo from open sources
Additional launchers will be included in the systems already deployed on the territory of Ukraine. They should increase the maximum number of ready-to-launch missiles for the air defense system, which may be necessary in the event of mass missile attacks.
Alternatively, one new anti-aircraft fire platoon can be created separately, including one of the transferred command posts, Norwegian launchers, and two launchers previously transferred by Lithuania. The missing radar station can be easily replaced by integrating one of the radars already transferred by the Western allies due to the open architecture of NASAMS. This decision, together with two Norwegian air defense platoons transferred in March of this year in cooperation with the USA, potentially forms the third NASAMS battery in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
NASAMS
NASAMS is a Norwegian-American medium-range anti-aircraft missile system, produced by a consortium of the American corporation Raytheon Technologies and the Norwegian Kongsberg group.
NASAMS air defense system.
2014. Norway. Photo credits: David van Keulen
The main tactical unit of NASAMS is the battery.
The composition of the battery can vary, but it usually includes three firing units, each of which includes 2-3 missile launchers, one AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar station, one control vehicle, and one vehicle with an MSP500 electro-optical system. Each mobile launcher is equipped with six containers with anti-aircraft missiles. The range of the NASAMS II anti-aircraft system configuration using AIM-120?
AMRAAM missiles is up to 25 km, and the reach in altitude is up to 14-15 km.
The latest version of the NASAMS III system is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 40 km.