Kongsberg to supply more air defence systems to Lithuania
Lithuania has ordered more NASAMS medium-range air defence systems from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and current systems in service with the Baltic will also be modernised under the deal.
Lithuania purchased systems in 2017 and earlier this year Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence purchased NASAMS missile launchers for donation to Ukraine. Lithuania became the first international customer of NASAMS III in October 2020.
The NOK2.3 billion (US$218.6 million) contract is another example of Baltic, former Soviet and Eastern European countries boosting their defensive capabilities in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Related Articles
Estonia adds more Thales radars to boost air defences
Latvia makes its largest defence investment in air defence system
Vehicles ordered for Poland’s PILICA+ short-range air defence system
The system consists of Raytheon’s Sentinel radar and three advanced missile variants, as well as Kongsberg’s Fire Distribution Center and multi-missile launchers.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, each battery for Lithuania will comprise four launchers mounted on Mercedes-Benz 8x8 trucks, Kongsberg’s Fire Distribution Center, two Raytheon MPQ-64F1 Sentinel 3D radars and several other components mounted on 4x4 trucks.
Baltic and Eastern European countries have been turning to Western air- and land-defence systems in the past decade and more so since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Earlier this month, Latvia announced it had made its largest defence investment as an independent country, signing a €600 million (US$647 million) deal with Diehl Defence for an IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defence system.
In November, MBDA UK and the Polish PGZ signed a £4 billion (US$4.9 billion) deal to work on the next phase of Poland’s future air defence programme.
More from Land Warfare
-
US Army chooses Textron Systems and Griffon Aerospace in final showdown for FTUAS
The US Army plans to procure a Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) to replace the Textron Systems RQ-7Bv2 Shadow tactical UAV currently in service with the US Army's Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). The FTUAS is being developed under the wider Future UAS (FUAS) programme.
-
British Army’s Challenger 3 undertakes qualification firings in Germany
The Challenger 3 Main Battle Tank (MBT), which will be delivered to the British Army by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) under an £800 million (US$1 billion) contract, will stay in service beyond 2040.
-
Rheinmetall wins communications deal that could be worth up to €400 million
The systems have been purchased under a special fund which has already been tapped into for the purchase of 60 CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopters worth up to €8 billion (US$8.7 billion) and thousands of Rheinmetall Caracal airmobile special operations vehicles worth €1.9 billion.
-
Italy weighs up the challenge of its tank replacement plans
The Russia–Ukraine war has continued to be the place the world’s militaries have been watching for lessons on both the EW and uncrewed front. Its conventional war aspect, however, has also been catching the attention of leaders.