Spain orders NASAMS

A Spanish NASAMS anti-air defence unit has been deployed in Estonia since April 2023. (GBAD Task Force Estonia)

The Spanish government has signed a EUR410 million (nearly USD434 million) contract for the acquisition of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), Kongsberg announced in a press release on 29 May.

The Norwegian company said the order was “for the delivery of the newest generation of the NASAMS air-defence system as part of the Spanish Armed Forces air-defence modernisation programme”, but a Kongsberg spokesperson declined to respond when Janes asked if the order was for NASAMS 3, how many systems were ordered, or what the delivery timeline is.

The Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM), the Spanish Armaments Directorate, approved a contract for the modernisation of Spain's NASAMS on 19 April.

The NASAMS modernisation includes upgrading the system's Sentinel radar, Spain's Council of Ministers announced on 9 April. The EUR45.9 million contract includes additional equipment, technical support, and auxiliary tools and equipment necessary for integration into the system, and related training and maintenance.

A Raytheon spokesperson told Janes on 30 May that the US company would supply Sentinel F1 radars for the contract. The AN/MPQ-64F1 provides target detection, identification, classification, and tracking from nap of the earth to 55° in elevation and over 360° in azimuth with an airspace search range quoted as being over 75 km, according to Janes C4ISR & Mission Systems: Land. The improved Sentinel also has a counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) mode, providing fire location information and the estimated impact point.

The 655 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) that the US Congress announced would be provided to Spain in early December 2023 include NASAMS missiles.