A Norwegian National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) in action during exercise Formidable Shield. (Norwegian Armed Forces on X)
ANKARA, Turkey — In collaboration with the Netherlands, Belgium said today it is investing €3.1 billion ($3.5 billion) on the joint acquisition of two modern air defense systems, radars and command vehicles, as Russian threats drive Europe to spend more on lucrative ground based capabilities.
During a ceremony here at the NATO Summit, officials from the two countries signed a cooperation agreement covering the multibillion procurement of 10 Kongsberg National Air-to-Surface Missile (NASAM) launchers, 20 Rheinmetall-made SkyRanger 30 assets, 14 Thales supplied GM200 Multi Mission Radars and 54 Iveco manufactured command vehicles.
“After twenty years without one, Belgium will build again its own powerful air defence capability through this joint procurement,” said Theo Francken, Belgium’s defense minister, in a statement. “This step is essential for the protection of our population and critical infrastructure.”
The statement stressed that partnering on a matching ground-based air defense architecture would maximize cooperation between Brussels and The Hague, across training, maintenance, logistics and operational deployments.
