Norwegian NASAMS air defense shines with 94% success rate in Ukraine
The Norwegians proudly claim that their NASAMS air defense system has successfully intercepted 900 objects in Ukraine, boasting a 94% success rate. This remarkable achievement serves as a strong endorsement for this open system. Let's delve into what makes NASAMS so effective.
In an interview with Aftenposten, Colonel Per Steinar Trøite of the Norwegian Air Force, who heads the support group for Ukraine, revealed that Ukrainian forces have shot down 900 objects using NASAMS batteries.
Reportedly, the interceptions have an effectiveness rate of 94%, focusing primarily on challenging targets. Crucially, 60% of these include cruise missiles from the Kh-101, Kh-555, Kalibr, Iskander-K, Kh-59, and Kh-69 families, which are Russia's main means of attack, aside from Shahed drones. These drones serve more as a distraction to mask the cruise missile assaults.
NASAMS system — Norwegians' visionary and open air defense system
The NASAMS, or Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System, was developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace in collaboration with the American RTX (formerly Raytheon) and first introduced in Norway in 1998. The system has since evolved, with its second version revealed in 2007. Today, the third variant of the system is in use.
The creators aimed to develop an air defense system with an open architecture capable of utilizing air-to-air missiles deployed on aircraft, thus streamlining logistics compared to systems requiring dedicated missiles. This resulted in a system that easily integrates with numerous radars—25 different designs have been approved—and can use missiles that simply need to be compatible with the airborne Mil-Std 1760 rail.
Openness to various missile systems
This approach requires only the modernization of launchers and software updates to cooperate with new missiles, contributing to significant export success for the Norwegians, as evidenced by its adoption by 16 users worldwide.
The current NASAMS configuration makes use of AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, including the extended-range ER variant, the AIM-9 Sidewinder, and the IRIS-T missile families. In the future, integration with MBDA Meteor missiles may occur if there is demand from users.
The performance of the NASAMS system is closely linked to the missiles used, with an effective range that varies between less than 12 miles and more than 19 miles. For instance, AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles offer a range of 19 miles. This system is capable of destroying diverse targets, including drones, helicopters, airplanes, and cruise missiles.
However, ballistic missiles pose a challenge. Thus, NASAMS serves as an excellent complement to Patriot systems, which are capable of neutralizing these more severe and infrequent threats.
