Kongsberg NOMADS: Protecting On The Go

KONGSBERG Defense and Aerospace’s recently-launched ground-based air defence system, the National Maneuver Air Defense System (NOMADS) which is designed for on the move (OTM) protection of forces and axis of advance in a dynamic and contested land warfare environment.

Developed in collaboration with the Norwegian Armed Forces and Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, the NOMADS was unveiled last June and tailored to be mounted on a range of armoured mechanised vehicles. It consists of a SHORAD (Short Range Air Defence) modular module mounted on a variety of vehicles/platforms for high off-road mobility.

The module integrates key command and control functions and applications from the medium-range NASAMS system and includes a passive seeker missile and an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. NATO interoperability is provided by L16/JREAP-C and IFF Mode5 capacity. The system can detect and intercept a myriad of threats, including unmanned aerial systems (UAS), cruise missiles, helicopters and even aircraft.

NOMADS features two launch canisters, each containing two missiles, a 3D radar and a KONGSBERG PROTECTOR remote weapon station with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun. NOMADS is fully integrated with NASAMS and other NATO systems, enabling autonomous and networked operations with multiple vehicles.

“NOMADS can defend against small, short-range targets as drones and cruise missiles, providing unique protection against threats like those currently seen in Ukraine. Its configuration is designed for rapid movement over rough terrain and with unprecedented into-action-time,” said Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace Executive Vice President Defence Systems Kjetil Reiten Myhra.

Kongsberg signed a deal last November for the delivery of NASAMS and NOMADS systems. The system was initially armed with Diehl IRIS-T missiles but will be armed with AIM-9X Sidewinders from RTX in the future.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:KONGSBERG)