The U.S. has approved the sale of AMRAAM-ER missiles to Norway for use on the NASAMS air defence system as a range upgrade.
The approval was announced on DSCA for 100 AMRAAM-ER missiles and other equipment at an estimated cost of $405 million. It has also been stated that AMRAAM-ER will replace the AIM-120B missiles reserved for NASAMS systems.
Baltic countries have drawn attention with a series of munition acquisitions, notably of 155 mm Excalibur GPS-guided shells and new air-to-air missiles. AMRAAM-ER is a joint development between Raytheon and the Norwegian Nammo to provide an extended-range missile for NASAMS using AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. The missile's prototypes featured the propulsion section of RIM-162 ESSM missiles coupled with AIM-120C7's guidance section.
However, Nammo later developed a new rocket motor specifically for the missiles, and the mention of AIM-120C8 guidance sections hints that AIM-120C7 guidance section was also replaced.
The missile has been stated to provide a range of more than 40 km, almost a per cent%40 increase from the legacy AMRAAMs used on NASAMS. Due to the range advantage, the missile had been considered for F-35 fighters as an interim long-range air-to-air missile solution.
