Kongsberg, in partnership with Raytheon, is offering one of the best short-to-medium-range air defence systems in the world: the Surface Launched AMRAAM System.

 

SL-AMRAAM is based on the use of the combat-proven AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). Over 11,000 AMRAAM missiles have already been produced for 24 customer nations. Production is expected to continue well into the next decade. Targets are detected and tracked by a high-resolution, 3D pencil beam radar. Multiple of these radars and the associated Fire Distribution Centres (FDCs) are netted together via radio data links, creating a real-time recognized air picture.

SL-AMRAAM can fire on target data provided by external sensors. Advanced emission control features of the radars minimise the risk of revealing the SL-AMRAAM unit's own position. The FDC automatically performs track correlation, identification, jam strobe triangulation, threat evaluation and weapon assignment. The AMRAAM missiles used within SL-AMRAAM are identical to those used on fighter aircraft, yielding considerable rationalisation returns for the user.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) was the first customer to introduce the SL-AMRAAM System through the NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) programme. That reached Full Operational Capability in 1998. Because of their success during NATO live flying exercises, NASAMS batteries are taken extremely serious by NATO aircrew. From 2004, NASAMS is earmarked by the Norwegian armed forces to be deployed in support of international crisis management operations.