Canada Sends First NASAMS Air Defense System to Ukraine
4 November, 2024 NASAMS air defense system with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles of the Australian Army. November 2023. Photo: Ministry of Defense of Australia
The Canadian government has already sent the first ordered NASAMS air defense system to Ukraine. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated this after his conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It is reported that Ukraine expects to receive this system by the end of the year.
The two leaders also discussed further defense assistance for Ukraine and the situation on the battlefield, including North Korea's involvement in the war.
The launcher of the NASAMS air defense system
Canadian NASAMS air defense system
Last year, the Canadian government joined the order placed by the United States for the production of 10 NASAMS systems. On January 10, 2023, Canada announced its intention to transfer the NASAMS air defense system, worth more than £300 million, to Ukraine. The agreements stipulated that Canada would reimburse the United States for the full cost of the new NASAMS system, while the United States would sign a direct contract with Ukraine for the supply of these weapons.
This should have allowed Canada to bypass the requirement to obtain U.S. permission to re-export NASAMS to Ukraine.
NASAMS air defense system.
2014. Norway. Photo credits: David van Keulen
However, the project faced a number of bureaucratic obstacles that slowed its implementation.
NASAMS air defense system
NASAMS is a mobile air defense system that includes a command and control center.
The system also includes the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar, passive electro-optical and infrared sensors, and launchers with interceptor missiles.
Launch of an AIM-120C AMRAAM missile from the NASAMS air defense system. Photo from open sources
The radar can track up to 80 targets within a radius of 75 km. The launcher is equipped with six launch containers.
The main weapon of the NASAMS system is the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, capable of engaging air targets at distances of 2.5 to 25 km and altitudes of up to 10 km.