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Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG) has confirmed that they have officially signed an agreement with the Commonwealth for the acquisition of naval strike missile capabilities.
According to a release from the company, the agreement is valued at MNOK 488 (AU$70,868,780) and follows the announcement from the federal government in April regarding the accelerated acquisition of naval strike missile (NSM) capabilities.
The NSM is scheduled to replace the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile under the SEA 1300 program, which is used onboard the Anzac Class Frigate and Hobart Class destroyers.
The KONGSBERG NSM is a fifth-generation long-range precision strike weapon, which is designed to overcome heavily protected maritime targets and can be used with a secondary role for land attack.
Øyvind Kolset, executive vice president, missile systems at Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, welcomed the opportunity to help the RAN meet their capability needs.
“Signing this initial contract to commence the acquisition of an Australian NSM capability is a very important milestone for the program. This is a clear demonstration of KONGSBERG’s commitment to the accelerated delivery of NSM to the Royal Australian Navy to meet their requirements,” he said.
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is collaborating with the company’s Australian subsidiary, Kongsberg Defence Australia to help deliver the program and facilitated local engagement, John Fry, general manager of Kongsberg Defence Australia, confirmed.
“Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has an excellent track record in technology transfer to Australian industry to enable complex systems to be supported from the national industrial base,” Fry said.
[Related: KONGSBERG, Hanwha team under LAND 8116 project]
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