TSAMTO, December 28th. The Latvian Ministry of Defense announced the signing by Defense Minister Andris Spruds and U.S. Ambassador Christopher Robinson of a contract for the purchase of NSM (Naval Strike Missile) anti-ship missile systems manufactured by American Raytheon and Norwegian Kongsberg.
According to Defense Minister Andris Spruds, the anti-ship missile system will become a new weapon system in the Armed Forces and an important part of the Latvian defense system, will ensure the protection of the country's coast, the safety of sea routes, and, if necessary, will be included in the general NATO defense system.
The total value of the contract is $105 million. The US authorities will provide financial assistance for the purchase of missile systems, covering 70% of the total cost of the contract. Latvia will pay 30% of the cost. It is planned that deliveries of the complex will begin in 2027.
As reported by TSAMTO, the Latvian Ministry of Defense initiated negotiations with the United States on the purchase of anti-ship missile systems based on the NSM anti-ship missile system last fall. In May, the purchase of the complexes was approved by the government of the country.
Earlier, in April 2022, the Seimas (Parliament of Latvia) amended the law on defense financing, providing for a gradual increase in national defense spending to 2.5% of the projected gross domestic product by 2025. In the missile program of the Latvian Armed Forces, priority programs include the purchase of anti-ship missile systems, medium-range air defense systems and MLRS. In comparison with previous plans, the additional allocation of budgetary funds allowed to accelerate the implementation of the plans of the Armed Forces of Latvia for five years.
On May 2, 2023, the US State Department approved the potential supply of coastal defense complexes based on the NSM PKR and related equipment to Latvia as part of the Foreign Military Sales program. The cost of the order may amount to $ 110 million. The Latvian government has asked the US administration about the possibility of acquiring coastal defense complexes based on the NSM anti-ship missile (NSM CDS), including tactical missiles, mobile launch platforms, simulators, and other related equipment and services.
The NSM is a missile that can be launched from various platforms at targets at sea and on land. The RCC provides damage to highly protected land and sea targets at ranges of more than 200 km, with a flight speed of 0.7-0.9 M. The rocket is equipped with a combined guidance system: an inertial navigation system with correction according to the NAVSTAR CRNS data is used in the main section of the flight path, and a dual-band passive thermal imaging homing head is turned on in the final section. Autonomous Target Recognition System (ATR) The GPS provides detection, recognition and defeat of a given target in a group.
The exact configuration of the complexes requested by the Ministry of Defense of Latvia is not disclosed. The coastal defense division usually consists of two missile batteries, including 3 command vehicles (for the division commander and two battery commanders), 6 self-propelled launchers and 6 combat control vehicles, three mobile communication nodes, two transport-charging vehicles, a specialized workshop on an automobile chassis, two three-coordinate radars. There are 4 missiles placed on each PU.
