If you were like most people, you probably scratched your head when media outlets first
reported back in August that Ukraine was to receive the National Advanced Surface-to-Air
Missile System or NASAMS. Mainly in the shadows as a next-generation surface-to-air defense system,
little has been known about NASAMS until now. This is because this highly classified and secret
weapon is the weapon of choice for about a dozen other countries when they have to shoot down an
air threat. So, what exactly is NASAMS, and why is Russia so afraid of Ukraine using it?
First developed by a partnership between the US and Norway in the 1990s, the NASAMS is a
ground-based air defense system meant for all weather conditions. This system is designed for
day and night operations and is able to fire on target data provided by both organic and external
sensors. Its 360-degree defense capability means nothing can escape its field of fire.
Because of this, it’s perfect for protecting mass population centers and static and mobile assets.
NASAMS is currently serving with six NATO countries and four partner nations in the
Middle East, South America, and Asia. As for the US, its NASAMS batteries do not see widespread
service. In fact, all of the NASAMS in the US arsenal are in a position protecting the National
Capital Region around Washington, DC. US officials chose to do this because of the huge cost of these
systems. With a price tag of around 34 million dollars per battery, the NASAMS is one of the
most expensive air defense systems ever built. NASAMS is not just a missile battery but a
whole self-contained package. While there is a mobile missile launcher,
this would be useless without a fire control radar. The system is tailorable to use either
Norwegian-produced radars or domestically built ones. Countries like the US have opted to build
their own radars to integrate into the system. The US version of NASAMS integrates the US-built
MPQ-64 Sentinel air defense radar. It operates in the X band of the energy
spectrum and in both passive and active modes. This means that the radar can passively look
for targets or actively pulse energy in all directions. Why a user would want to do this
depends on the role the NASAMS is serving. Passive operations allow the batteries to
remain concealed until the last moment. By not emitting any radiation, the NASAMS in passive
mode can stay protected from radiation-seeking missiles meant to destroy it. The battery can
then switch to active mode to get the most accurate fire control data either before a
launch or as a horizon scan to verify that the passive radar returns are accurate.
The missile system is also fitted with a fire distribution center command and control unit.
This portion is part of the command vehicle that accompanies each missile battery. Like the radar,
this can also be tailored to each country's needs. For example, older
versions of NASAMS are only Link 11 capable, while newer versions are Link 16 capable.
What these tactical data links are is just secure ways to transmit information between units.
Because of this capability, NASAMS batteries can utilize fire control data from further away units
by passing it through a common data link. The advantage of this capability is that it
greatly extends the coverage and range of NASAMS batteries. Unlike older Cold War systems that
could only shoot down what their own sensors could acquire, a NASAMS can shoot down a target that it
never actually picked up with its own radar. The system is also great for its ease of use
and interoperability based on its modular design. The standard NASAMS unit consists
of three multi-mission launchers, a command post, a shelter module, and a Tactical Control
Cell with Tactical Control Officer consoles. The different components are normally linked
together in a hard-wired communications network to prevent jamming and detection.
The system's modular design means it can be adapted to meet the needs of different countries.
By not grounding the system in a particular data link, software program, or weapon, the NASAMS can
get continuous upgrades as they become available. Because of the data links the NASAMS is capable of
using, the standard NASAMS unit can be integrated with a variety of anti-air capabilities,
including cruise missiles, drones, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The units are
highly mobile and can be transported by truck or rail, and this means that they can shoot
and displace to avoid counter-fire. By being dispersed, the missiles and launchers have
increased survivability against enemy attacks. The Fire Distribution Center automatically
performs all the calculations that would be impossible for a human to do by hand in
real-time. For example, when the system detects an inbound threat, the fire distribution center
then has to take that raw radar data and do something with it. But how does it do it?
When the radar picks up a return for an incoming missile, the FDC first tells the radar to start
tracking the target. Once enough data has been collected to determine that the unknown contact
is a missile and not something else, the computers start analyzing what it could be.
Because standard Russian weapons like the Iskander and Kalibr missiles have distinct flight paths,
speeds, and frequencies, all this data is fed into the computer to decide what the threat
could be. After determining with as much certainty as possible what the threat is,
the system then selects the weapon for the operator to use. If the operator agrees
with the computer's assessment of the threat, missiles can go down range to destroy the threat.
Speaking of missiles, the wide range of missiles that the NASAMS can fire give it
one of its greatest strengths. One of the primary missiles is the AIM-9 Sidewinder.
Developed by the US Navy and the United States Air Force during the 1950s, the Sidewinder is
an advanced air-to-air missile with superior airframe and weapon technology. The missile
has a wide range of applications, including air-to-air, air-to-ground, and surface-to-air.
Its versatility allows it to be used on a wide variety of modern tactical aircraft.
The AIM-9X Sidewinder, in service with NASAMS, is the latest variant of the AIM-9 Sidewinder
missile. The US military first tested the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile in May 2006. In 2015,
the Army successfully launched the AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II missile from the National
Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System. This missile is the most advanced short-range
air-to-air missile in the US inventory. It features a highly maneuverable airframe and
an advanced infrared countermeasures feature. Additionally, the missile's terminal guidance
features a new imaging infrared seeker. This seeker improves tracking stability
and provides greater tracking sensitivity. The AIM-9X Sidewinder missile is currently in
service with 22 countries around the world, making it one of the most prolific anti-air missiles
today. Though it was true that early versions of the Sidewinder were not great, the US has worked
out those issues during its more than sixty years in service. Now, it‘s one of the most potent and
cost-effective air defense missiles out there. Though most NATO countries, including the US,
use the Sidewinder as the primary missile for NASAMS, that is not the only option.
Governments can also use the newer InfraRed Imaging System Tail/Thrust missile or IRIS-T.
The IRIS-T came about as a six-nation effort with Germany as the lead nation. Greece, Italy,
Spain, Sweden, and Norway wanted to replace the Sidewinder as a point-defense anti-air system with
something more modern. The IRIS-T is available in a short-range version and a medium-range version.
The short-range variant has a range of 12 kilometers, while the medium-range version
has a range of 40 kilometers. The missiles are equipped with a GPS and an inertial navigation
system to help guide them to their target. The missile itself is 3.2 meters long, weighs
87.3 kilograms, and generates little smoke when fired. It does not include a millimeter-wave radar
on the warhead. However, it is still considered a semi-active missile. A semi-active missile
receives radar data with the fire direction center once the missile is in flight. As it goes through
its flight path, the missile gets continual updates for its position and where the target is
located at that time. The missile is equipped with an infrared imaging seeker for its terminal phase,
and the seeker acquires the target when the missile is within striking distance.
This matters for Ukraine because they now possess the world’s most effective point defense anti-air
system. With its complex radars and advanced computer software, the NASAMS can pick up and
calculate accurate fire control solutions for even the most advanced missiles Russia has to offer.
The fact that the NASAMS can use a wide range of missiles is another great selling point.
Because the Sidewinder has been in service for so long, NATO countries have vast stockpiles of them
lying around. While the newer IRIS-T missile has some advantages over legacy Sidewinders,
the missile is still more than potent against Russian attacks. Because an air defense system
is only as good as you have enough ammo to shoot, with nearly unlimited stockpiles of
Sidewinder missiles, Ukraine can shoot down expensive Russian ordnance faster than they
can produce it for a fraction of the cost. While it’s unknown exactly how many NASAMS
Ukraine has and their current setup, we still have a pretty good idea. After President Biden
announced in August that Ukraine would get these systems, the US delivered the first two batteries
in October. Because these systems came from the US, they are likely armed with Sidewinders and
use the Sentinel radar. As of November 2022, at least four more systems are being paid for
by NATO to be donated to Ukraine. These systems would definitely be coming from the factory floor.
But even though the NASAMS sounds really impressive, it only matters if it performs
well. In 2020, the US Air Force wanted to see just how good the NASAMS was. The details remain
classified, but the Air Force claimed that the successful shootdown of a dummy cruise missile
was the lowest intercept ever recorded. This matters so much because a missile can
do a few things to defeat anti-air systems. It can change its course, change its speed,
or change its altitude. While missiles during the Cold War tried to go above the maximum height and
come down, most of today's missiles, except for anti-tank missiles, prefer to stay close
to the ground. This is because if a missile can get below the minimum scan height of a radar,
the NASAMS would never see it. However, with that Air Force test, the US proved that NASAMS
could destroy targets from near ground height to up to 50,000 feet in the air.
But while the Air Force still keeps the test data under wraps, it looks like they were not
bluffing. In mid-November 2022, the NASAMS made its combat debut. One of the two batteries given
to Ukraine engaged a barrage of ten cruise missiles. Both Ukraine and the US confirmed
that they had a 100% kill ratio. With such impressive results, it is no wonder that
Russia is scared of NASAMS blanketing Ukraine. Now watch “Why Putin's Invasion of Ukraine is a
Failure.” Or check out “Insane Ways Vladimir Putin Survived Assassination Attempts.”