The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency has awarded Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace two contracts, announced 23 June, covering upgrades to the radars on the NASAMS Air Defence System, and the development of tactical radio equipment – Combat Net Radio – for the Norwegian Armed Forces.
The contract for upgrading new NASAMS radars is entered into with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and has a value of NKr365m ($33.6m), due to be completed by 2025, and is meant to “ensure that the NASAMS air defense system maintains its ability to detect, identify and combat air threats,” according to Brigadier General Jarle Nergård, Head of the Air Systems Division at FMA.
The NASAMS system is a mobile air-defence platform designed to safeguard assets including air bases, ports, military personnel, and civilian populations. This technology has been implemented in 13 other countries, including the United States, and Ukraine. With Nato’s increased defence posture in Eastern Europe, NASAMS systems have been deployed to Estonia from Spain’s inventory, and Lithuania have deployed their own as part of air defence for the Baltic-Nordic area.
Nergård goes on to say that the modernisation of the NASAMS will standardise the radars with Norway’s partners, providing the same configuration and functionality of new radars. The AN/MPQ-64 radars are to be upgraded by replacing existing components.
Raytheon Missile and Defence will complete the upgrading of the first radar and will also provide the necessary upgrade modules. Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services has been tasked with completing the upgrades for the remaining radars.
The development of the Combat Net Radio will deliver a small number of radios during its first phase, at a cost of NKr320m. This acquisition is primarily for the land domain, and is a part of Project Mime, which includes combat-related IT for the Norwegian armed services.
According to the agreement, the initial phase will involve the development and low-volume production of the vehicle radio module, THOR VRM. The agreement outlines several potential phases beyond this initial stage. Possible future phases may involve the delivery of series, software development, and maintenance support.
“To us, it has been important to find a future solution that can meet the sector’s need for a tactical radio capacity, with the reuse of technology that has previously been developed and delivered to the Armed Forces,” says Gro Jære, Director General of NDMA.
