Australian Army NASAMS reaches full combat capability and my country expects to deliver the first batch of systems before 2031

The Australian Army’s air defense capabilities have been upgraded. The Australian government announced on the 9th that the "National Advanced Surface-to-Air Defense Missile System" (NASAMS) has officially achieved full operational capability (FOC), which means that the system has completed various operational verifications and can be put into actual missions to intercept cruise missiles, military aircraft, helicopters and drones, and protect deployed troops, airports and important infrastructure. It has become an important line of defense for Australia's integrated air defense and missile defense system.

According to the foreign military news website "Army Recognition", NASAMS was jointly developed by Raytheon of the United States and Kongsberg of Norway. It adopts a networked and decentralized architecture that can disperse radars, command centers and missile launchers to improve survivability when encountering enemy reconnaissance and counterattacks. The Australian version also integrates the domestic CEA active electronically scanned array radar and installs the highly mobile launcher on the "Hawkei" protective vehicle, which can quickly move positions after firing. The 16th Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery completed the final verification after undergoing live-fire firing, field deployment and logistics maintenance training.

NASAMS can use different missiles such as the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile series and Sidewinder missiles to flexibly engage in battles based on target threats and ammunition conditions; when faced with mixed attacks by military aircraft, cruise missiles and drones, it can avoid wasting high-priced, high-performance interceptor missiles.

It is worth noting that my country is also in the process of acquiring NASAMS. The Air Force plans to allocate approximately 35.74749 billion yuan from 2024 to 2030 to purchase the first batch of three systems as well as radars, launchers, missiles and other equipment.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced in November last year that Raytheon had received a contract of approximately US$698.95 million. The relevant work is expected to be completed before the end of February 2031. In other words, the first three sets of NASAMS are expected to be delivered before the first quarter of 2031. In the future, they will strengthen the air defense of important targets such as my country's hubs, air force bases, naval ports and radar stations.