Recently, the United States has approved the sale of three sets of NASAMS systems to Taiwan. As early as two years ago, the United States provided NASAMS systems to Ukraine. As a battle-tested air defense system, what performance does NASAMS have and what value will it bring to Taiwan?
One set of NASAMS system consists of several subsystems, including an AN/MPQ-64 F1 Sentinel radar, a fire control center, an electro-optical infrared control system center, and multiple launch systems. Each launch vehicle is equipped with six launch canisters capable of firing extended-range versions of AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles.
The NASAMS system was jointly developed by Norway’s Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace Company and the US-based Raytheon Company. It was initially created to meet the Norwegian military’s need for a low-cost air defense weapon system. Norway chose Raytheon primarily due to its development of the AIM-120 air-to-air missile. Since the AIM-120 missile was the most advanced medium-range air-to-air missile in the US and the world at that time, Norway decided to directly apply it to the air defense weapon system, thus saving the cost of developing a new missile.
This approach was straightforward and proven successful. However, it raised a potential issue: the standard AIM-120 missile is designed for air launched operations. For instance, the AIM-120D model, as the latest version, has a range of over 160 kilometers when air-launched. But when launched from the ground by the NASAMS system, the range of the AIM-120 missile is only 40 kilometers. Why is there a difference of 120 kilometers?
When launching a missile from the ground, it needs to overcome gravity to gain altitude, requiring additional effort. Additionally, when a missile is launched from an aircraft, it typically has a certain flight speed, giving the missile an initial velocity of 0.7 to 0.8 Mach. Hence, the potential and kinetic energy of the air-launched missile are greater than that of a ground-launched one. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the range of a ground-launched missile is much lower than that of an air-launched one.
To address this issue, Raytheon developed a new missile specifically for ground systems, called the AIM-120 ER (Extended Range). According to Raytheon’s official website, this missile is designed specifically for the ground-based NASAMS system. Comparing it to the standard AIM-120 missile, it includes an additional stage of rocket booster, providing the missile with greater range and speed. The range has been increased by 50%, and the altitude by 70%.
The NASAMS system being introduced to Taiwan is equipped with the AN/MPQ-64 F1 Sentinel radar. This radar is a standard X-band pulse Doppler radar that can provide 360-degree coverage with a detection range of up to 120 kilometers. Most importantly, this radar is lightweight, only 1.8 tons, and can even be mounted on rooftops. Typically, it can be towed by various lightweight all-terrain vehicles or trucks, giving it strong mobility deployment capability. It’s evident from photos that a pickup truck equipped with the Sentinel radar is nearly the size of a standard Ford F-150.
While the detection range of this radar may not be particularly outstanding, combining its size and weight, the 120-kilometer detection range is sufficient for the NASAMS system, providing it with strong mobility capability. For instance, the US plans to integrate the Iron Dome missile launcher with the Sentinel radar by 2024, enabling it to command intercepts of Israel’s Tamir missiles.
Currently, Taiwan’s air defense system includes the US Patriot air defense missile and Taiwan’s domestically developed Sky Bow II and Sky Bow III missiles. Why then purchase the US NASAMS system?
The NASAMS system offers several advantages. Firstly, it launches AIM-120 and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles that are shared with the Air Force, meaning it won’t burden Taiwan much in logistics support. If the air defense force urgently needs missiles, they can even be directly requisitioned from the Air Force and vice versa. Therefore, a certain quantity of AIM-9 and AIM-120 stored by Taiwan can be shared between the two forces.
The second advantage of the NASAMS system is its affordability. The Patriot missiles purchased by Taiwan from the US are very expensive. The total value of a complete Patriot missile system, including radar, command and control center, and several missile launchers, could be as high as $1.1 to $1.3 billion.
In comparison, the price of a NASAMS system is approximately $285 million. According to the news release by the US Department of Defense in May 2023, the first NASAMS air defense system sold to Ukraine amounted to around $285 million. That means the funds for purchasing one Patriot missile system could be used to purchase four NASAMS systems.
Furthermore, there’s a price difference in missiles. The AIM-120 missile used in the NASAMS system had a price of around $1 million per missile in 2019. So, how much does a Patriot missile cost per missile? According to a Reuters report in 2024, the US provided Lockheed Martin a $4.5 billion contract to produce a total of 870 Patriot 3MSE missiles, with each Patriot 3MSE missile costing approximately $5.17 million.
In other words, the cost of launching a Patriot missile is five times higher than that of the NASAMS system. The primary developer of the NASAMS system is Norway’s Kongsberg company. The initial purpose of developing the NASAMS system was to provide a low-cost and fast-maneuvering air defense system.
Of course, the NASAMS system has an important limitation, which is its inability to intercept ballistic missiles. One of the reasons for the high cost of the Patriot missile is its original design to intercept enemy ballistic missiles. In the Ukraine conflict, the Patriot has proven capable of intercepting Russian high hypersonic weapons reaching speeds of up to 9 Mach, such as the “Dagger” and “Zircon” missiles, as well as intercepting Moscow’s Iskander medium-range ballistic missiles reaching speeds of 5 to 6 Mach. However, the NASAMS system lacks the capability to intercept ballistic missiles, focusing mainly on intercepting cruise missiles, drones, and fighter jets.
We know that the NASAMS system has been provided to Ukraine, so how has it performed on the battlefield? According to a report released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in April 2023, since November 2022, the NASAMS has been protecting Ukraine’s skies, successfully shooting down over a hundred enemy missiles and drones. In a report by Reuters on November 16, the US Department of Defense stated that the NASAMS air defense system achieved a 100% success rate in intercepting Russian missiles. While this data is from the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine and the NASAMS system cannot guarantee a 100% interception success rate, it does demonstrate that this high-speed, maneuverable, and relatively affordable weapon system can effectively intercept Russian cruise missiles on the Ukrainian battlefield.
The introduction of the NASAMS system will further strengthen Taiwan’s air defense system. The NASAMS system is mainly for targeting lower-value assets such as cruise missiles, armed helicopters, and fighter jets, while the responsibility for intercepting ballistic missiles remains with the Patriot system and Sky Bow III. Although NASAMS is not a weapon that can reverse the situation on the battlefield, it will have significant strategic value for Taiwan in building a multi-layered air defense system.
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