Raytheon Company has received an initial contract to produce Naval Strike Missile (NSM) launchers at its production facility in Louisville, Kentucky. The deal ushers in U.S. manufacturing of the Norwegian-developed weapon system.

Kongsberg Defence Systems awarded the initial contract for qualification units. The award follows a July announcement that Raytheon will produce NSM launchers in the U.S. The company also plans to perform final assembly, integration and test of the Naval Strike Missile at Raytheon’s Tucson, Arizona facility.

“Building NSM launchers at our Louisville facility is an excellent extension of our long-standing relationship with Kongsberg. This contract will enable us to add jobs while providing our Norwegian teammates with world-class launchers,” said Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems President.

Raytheon already produces Close-in Weapon Systems including Phalanx, SeaRAM, and Rolling Airframe Missile launchers in Louisville.

“This contract is an important next step in our long-term partnership with Raytheon, and the historic first production contract for NSM in the US,” said Harald Ånnestad, Kongsberg Defence Systems President.

“Kongsberg is committed to continuing the evolution of building and supporting NSM in the US for the foreseeable future. This helps to create high tech jobs and secures US sustainability of NSM,” he added.

With a range of more than 100 nautical miles, NSM is a long-range, anti-ship missile that provides superior strike capability against land and sea targets. Raytheon and Kongsberg believe NSM is an ideal solution for navies around the globe and the best over-the-horizon missile for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship.

The companies are also teamed on the development of the Joint Strike Missile and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems also known as NASAMS.

NSM provides excellent penetration capability against enemy air defense systems. It features an advanced Imaging Infrared Seeker with Autonomous Target Recognition. NSM has high survivability against modern and future air defense systems and can fly at extremely low sea-skimming altitude, and has terrain-following flight capability.