Latvia Transfers $105 Million NSM Anti-Ship Missile
Latvia Procures US-Norway Co-Developed NSM Anti-Ship Missile for $105 Million
Latvia has made the decision to procure the US-Norway co-produced NSM Anti-Ship Missile at a cost of $105 million, signing the contract two days ago. The NSM Anti-Ship Missile, jointly produced by US Raytheon and Norwegian Kongsberg companies, has been successful in its export performance.
The contract for the supply of NSM Anti-Ship Missiles worth 105 million dollars was signed on December 8, 2023. In a statement made by Latvian Minister of Defense Andris Sprūds, the United States’ contribution to strengthening Latvia’s security was greatly appreciated.
The Minister went on to say that the anti-ship missile system will be a new capability of the Armed Forces and an important part of Latvia’s defense system. Furthermore, the system will ensure the protection of Latvian coasts, the security of waterways, and will be included in the common defense system of the Alliance when necessary.
It has been revealed that the NSM Anti-Ship Missiles to be supplied by Latvia will be in the coastal defense configuration. Poland recently placed an order for NSM Missiles worth 1.8 billion euros.
The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is a long-range precision strike weapon designed to search for and destroy enemy ships at ranges greater than 100 nautical miles. The missile is equipped with GPS and terrain-referenced navigation systems, as well as an imaging seeker head (IIR).
The NSM missile has a sea-skimming feature and can perform advanced terminal maneuvers and evasion maneuvers against enemy air defenses. It also has the Autonomous Target Recognition (ATR) feature, which enables detection, recognition, and hitting of the correct target at sea or on land.
Norway became the 11th customer of the Naval Strike Missile in December 2022, joining the navies of Poland, Malaysia, Germany, the United States (for both the US Navy and USMC), Romania, Canada, Australia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
The technical data of the NSM includes a speed of 0.7 – 0.9 Mach, a weight of 407 kg (897 lbs), a length of 3.96 m (156 inches), and a range of over 100 nautical miles (approximately 200 km).
The source of the above information is DefenseSanayiST.com.
