What is NASAMS (National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) and why India To Buy It

The National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) is a medium-range, network-centric air defence system designed and developed jointly by Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, primarily for the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

The system can be deployed to identify, engage and destroy aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as protect high-value assets and mass population centres against air-to-surface threats.

The missile system is in service with the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Dutch Army, the Spanish Army and the US National Capital Region, Finland and an undisclosed nation.

Raytheon and Kongsberg entered into a ten-year agreement in June 2015 to expand their partnership on NASAMS until 2025.

NASAMS 2, an upgraded version of the NASAMS, uses new radars and 12 missile launchers for quicker identification and destruction of the targets. The upgraded system has been in service since 2007 and ordered by a number of countries, including Norway, Finland and the Netherlands.

The NASAMS air defence system features network centric, open architecture that provides increased survivability against electronic countermeasures. The missile system can engage 72 targets simultaneously in active and passive modes. The primary weapon of the system is AIM-120 AMRAAM.

Raytheon MPQ-64F1 Sentinel high-resolution, 3D pencil beam surveillance radar is fitted to the NASAMS to detect and track the targets. The missile system is also fitted with AMRAAM launchers and a passive electro-optic (EO) and infra-red (IR) sensor, hard-real-time communication network and an embedded and stand alone mission planning tool.

The Spanish Army successfully conducted a live-fire exercise of the NASAMS with four AMRAAMs in November 2008. A tactical live-fire exercise of NASAMS was conducted by the Royal Norwegian Air Force in June 2011.

The air defence system successfully test fired AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile in 2011. The Royal Norwegian Air Force conducted a test firing of ground-based Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) from the NASAMS in July 2012.

The NASAMS is equipped with three multi-mission launchers, each carrying up to six ready-to-fire missiles inside the protective canisters. It can be carried on truck and rail. The system features a 360 degree defence capability and is suitable for day and night, all-weather operations.

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