Kongsberg building third missile factory in America

Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace is building a state-of-the-art missile production facility in the United States to meet global demand, following expansion in Norway and the recently announced, government-backed missile factory in Newcastle, Australia.

FILE PHOTO: HMAS Sydney fires Royal Australian Navy’s first Naval Strike Missile during a SINKEX off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii as a part of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024. Photo by Leading Seaman Daniel Goodman.

Located near key US Navy facilities, the site in James City County, Virginia, will provide additional production capacity, sustainment and in-country tech refresh capabilities for KONGSBERG’s Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) and Joint Strike Missiles (JSM).

KONGSBERG CEO Geir Håøy said the new missile production facilities in the US, Australia and Norway would address the strong and long-term demand for KONGSBERG’s unique technology and the critical need to strengthen collective defence capabilities.

“KONGSBERG has a proud history in the US and we are delighted to continue to invest in the country to support American interests,” Mr Håøy said.

This is the second new missile production facility KONGSBERG has announced in as many months, and the decision to locate this facility in the US was heavily influenced by the possibility that the Department of Defense could award a multiyear procurement contract to KONGSBERG.

President of Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace Eirik Lie said the US Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force are important customers for KONGSBERG’s Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile.

“Their demand signals gave us the predictability we needed to make this investment in the United States,” Mr Lie said.

“This will allow us to better serve our allies in the US and continue to expand that supply chain locally, building capacity and redundancy for these critical capabilities.”

The new facility in James City County will be equipped to assemble, upgrade and repair both NSM and JSM.