Australia has declared its Army-operated NASAMS capability fully operational, strengthening the country’s layered air-defence network. Reaching final operational capability means the system has met its required operational standards and can now be employed for Australian Defence Force missions.NASAMS was introduced under the Short Range Ground Based Air Defence programme and provides the Army with the inner defensive layer of the wider Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defence system. It is replacing the RBS-70 and other legacy short-range air-defence capabilities as Australia’s principal ground-based system against aircraft, unmanned systems and cruise missiles.A key feature of the Australian system is the level of domestic industry participation. Canberra approved the SRGBAD programme in 2017 and expanded it in 2019 with CEA Technologies’ Active Electronically Scanned Array radar technology. Australian companies have also contributed to system integration, logistics, sustainment and in-country support.The Australian Army’s configuration uses CEA radar technology alongside a Hawkei-based launcher and infrared/optical sensors. AMRAAM and Sidewinder interceptors can be deployed from high-mobility Hawkei launchers or Mk II canister launchers installed on HX77 heavy trucks. The launchers can accommodate as many as six missiles each. Three launchers are assigned to each NASAMS troop, with 110th Battery of 16 Regiment in Adelaide becoming the first unit to operate the system. Two batteries are planned for the regiment’s future NASAMS structure.NASAMS is a joint Norwegian-US development involving Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Raytheon. The system uses a networked sensor architecture and missile interceptors fitted with blast-fragmentation warheads. It can engage aircraft, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles at distances of up to about 60 kilometres, while its sensors can identify threats at approximately 120 kilometres. NASAMS has become an internationally adopted air-defence system, with more than a dozen countries operating or procuring it.
