In 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Latvia plans to sign a contract for the purchase of Naval Strike Missile (NSM) coastal defense systems.

The Delfi reported about this with reference to the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Latvia, Kaspar Galkin.

He noted that negotiations on the purchase of these weapons had begun in September of this year.

Therefore, it is expected that the agreement will be signed already next year.

Besides, the Ministry of Defense of Latvia continues negotiating on the purchase of six HIMARS systems, however the exact signing date is currently unknown.

As previously reported, the HIMARS rocket systems were planned to be purchased within the next three years.

The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship medium-range missile developed and designed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace.

The missile is equipped with an infrared homing head that has its own database of targets. Due to it, missiles are able to recognize specific types of targets and choose the right one.

Control on the marching part of the flight is carried out with the use of an inertial system with correction of GPS system signals.

The missile, which is 4 meters long and weighs more than 400 kg, has a combined warhead with the weight of 120 kg. The maximum launch range is 185 km.

As previously reported, Romania signed an agreement on the purchase of NSM coastal defense systems in mid-December. The value of the contract is $138.6 million.