MSPO 2023: Kongsberg awarded contract to deliver four additional NSM Coastal Defence System squadrons to Poland

Kongsberg NSM CDS on display at MSPO 2023. (Janes/Neil Dee)

Kongsberg has been awarded a contract worth around NOK16 billion (USD1.5 billion) to deliver four additional Naval Strike Missile (NSM) Coastal Defence System (CDS) squadrons to Poland, the largest single contract in Kongsberg's history. The contract was approved at the MSPO 2023 defence exhibition in Kielce, Poland, by Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak in the presence of Polish President Andrzej Duda. Pending confirmation of export financing for the contract, deliveries of the system are scheduled to take place from 2026 to 2032.

Poland was the first country to acquire the NSM CDS capability in 2008, with a second squadron following in 2014. Speaking to Janes at MSPO, Kongsberg confirmed that the four new squadrons will supplement the two squadrons, for a total of six.

The NSM, a fifth-generation strike missile featuring a stealth design, can be launched from both sea- and land-based platforms, and is in use with, or with a planned to delivery to, 12 countries already. The CDS version features a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) command-and-control (C2) system with NSM control functionality.

The Polish programme also features close collaboration between Kongsberg and Polish industry. Kongsberg told Janes that while the missiles are produced in Norway, close to half of the rest of the system is produced in collaboration with Polish industry. Kongsberg has also built an industrial capability to sustain the system in Poland and will provide training and technical support, including simulators, to allow Polish personnel to conduct maintenance.