TSAMTO, March 14. Norway will provide Ukraine with two fully equipped NASAMS SAM batteries in cooperation with the United States.
According to Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram, Ukraine is in dire need of protection from missile attacks, and Norway will help it.
The complexes transferred to Ukraine by Norway will complement the two air defense systems transferred to the US by the Armed Forces of Ukraine last fall. Their delivery should expand the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to protect important infrastructure facilities from missile attacks. Norway will also train Ukrainian servicemen in the maintenance and operation of the systems.
According to the Minister of Defense, Norway previously provided equipment and conducted training for the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to work on the NASAMS air defense systems transferred to Ukraine by the United States.
Last week, A. Gram visited Kiev, where he met with President V. Zelensky and Defense Minister A. Reznikov.
The Norwegian Parliament recently approved a long-term program named after Fridtjof Nansen. Within the framework of this program, Norway intends to allocate 15 billion annually in the period from 2023 to 2027. norv. kroons ($1.6 billion) as aid to Ukraine. In 2023, half of the grant will be used to finance military assistance.
As TSAMTO reported, in July 2022, the US Department of Defense announced its intention to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine with eight NASAMS SAM batteries as part of various military assistance packages.
In August 2022, a contract worth $ 182.295 million was signed with Raytheon for the supply of the first two NASAMS SAM batteries for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In October 2022, the company transferred the first two NASAMS systems to the US Armed Forces, which were sent to Ukraine.
In December 2022, the US Defense Ministry signed an additional contract with Raytheon for the supply of NASAMS air defense systems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The cost of the order is $1.216 billion. The exact number of ordered complexes has not been disclosed. Deliveries should be completed by November 28, 2025.
In January 2023, the Minister of National Defense of Canada, A. Anand, announced that Canada would purchase NASAMS air defense systems and the necessary ammunition from the United States for the gratuitous transfer of the Armed Forces to Ukraine. The purchase cost is estimated at 406 million kanad. USD. The scope of delivery is not disclosed.
Currently, the main means of defeating the NASAMS SAM is the ground-based version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, capable of hitting aerial targets at ranges from 2.5 to 25 km. Since 2019, the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile has also been integrated. In addition, the AMRAAM-ER interceptor is at the final stage of development, characterized by an increased range and effectiveness of hitting the target. According to the developers, the range of hitting targets with the AMRAAM-ER missile should exceed 40 km, height – 13.6 km.
