Kongsberg wins biggest-ever missile contract from US Navy, Marines

PARIS — Norwegian defense firm Kongsberg won a five-year contract from the US Navy worth around US$900 million to supply anti-ship missiles, in what the company says is its biggest missile contract ever.

The company will provide its Naval Strike Missile, which is being installed on the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships and Constellation-class frigates, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The fixed-price contract is valued at 10 billion Norwegian kroner (US$896 million), with options that could lift the cumulative value to about 12 billion kroner.

The company will also supply the missile to the U.S. Marine Corps for the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS.

Kongsberg said in September it would open a new missile production facility in Virginia, with the company citing demand for its Naval Strike Missile and the air-launched Joint Strike Missile. That follows the opening of a new factory for both missiles in Norway in June and plans to build a new missile plant in Australia,

“This contract is an example of the strong demand we see for our strike missiles across NATO and allied nations, which is why we this year have opened a new missile factory in Norway and announced two facilities in Australia and the U.S.,” Eirik Lie, the president of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, said in the statement.

The Naval Cruise Missile was first deployed by the Norwegian Navy in 2012, and has also been selected by NATO partners including Poland, the U.K., Spain and the Netherlands.

The subsonic missile has a range of more than 100 nautical miles or 185 kilometers, weights 407 kilograms and has a length of 3.96 meters or 13 feet, according to Kongsberg. The missile uses a high-resolution imaging infrared seeker for autonomous target recognition, and its sea-skimming capabilities and low signature allow it to survive enemy air defenses, the company says.