Raytheon [RTN] yesterday said it delivered the first High Mobility Launcher (HML) for Norway’s National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) to provide Norway with advanced air defense capability.
“The Royal Norwegian Air Force is the first international NASAMS customer to receive this highly mobile solution that can be easily rolled on and off a C-130,” said Sanjay Kapoor, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense for Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) business. “This is an important milestone for Raytheon and our partner KONGSBERG because of the transportability, safety and security it brings to the maneuvering forces when countering evolving threats.”
Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace AS is Raytheon’s Norwegian partner on the program.
The HML significantly reduces the time required to transport and ready the system when time is vital to protect populations and high-value targets, the company said in a statement.
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| NASAMS AMRAAM missile being fired from a High Mobility Launcher Photo: Raytheon |
The new HML has the modern NASAMS electronics that the Norwegian air force will soon be installing and upgrading in its existing fleet of canister launchers. The resulting commonality will help reduce maintenance and lifecycle costs.
The modern package includes GPS and north-finding instrumentation for quicker system placement and positioning in the battlefield and increased target engagement accuracy.
In addition to Norway–where NASAMS has been fielded for more than a decade–and an undisclosed customer, the Raytheon-KONGSBERG NASAMS is currently deployed in Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and the Washington, D.C., area.