Contract inked for Romanian Naval Strike Missile coastal defence system
Romania has formally ordered the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) coastal defence system under a US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement with Raytheon.
On 5 January, Raytheon was awarded a $208 million contract by US Naval Sea Systems Command on behalf of Romania for the coastal defence battery.
Work towards the contract will be conducted in Norway by Kongsberg, developer of the NSM, and in the US by Raytheon.
Shephard previously reported that the Naval Strike Missile coastal defence system is scheduled for delivery in Q4 2024, replacing a Romanian Navy battery equipped with Soviet 4K51 Rubezh (SSC-3 Styx) mobile anti-ship missiles.
While the contract notice did not specify how many systems would be included in the deal, a previously published State Department approval detailed a Romanian request for two coastal defence systems comprising four mobile launchers, two fire distribution centres and other equipment.
Romania signed an agreement with the USN to purchase the system in May 2021, making it the first to procure it under a US government FMS programme.
The NSM, a long-range precision missile, has been designed to strike heavily defended land and sea targets. The missile has a terrain-following capability and uses advanced seeker and target identification technology for precise targeting.
The NSM has a 125kg HE blast-fragmentation warhead and a range of 185-555km, depending on the profile.
Options to the contract could increase its value to over $217 million.
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