Latvian government approves $110 million Naval Strike Missile buy

WARSAW, Poland — Latvia’s government this week voted to authorize the acquisition of Naval Strike Missile anti-ship weapons to bolster the country’s Baltic Sea shore defense capacities.

The Cabinet made its decision as the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced the State Department had given its approval to the planned foreign military sale worth about $110 million.

In a statement, the Latvian defense ministry said that Latvia’s military will acquire “critical capabilities” related to anti-ship missile systems, mid-range air defense, and artillery “about five years earlier than previously planned.”

“The acquisition of this missile system marks the transition of the armed forces to new defense capabilities with a greater firepower and target destruction range, and it will significantly strengthen the defense of Latvia’s coast,” Latvian Defense Minister Ināra Mūrniece said.

Developed by U.S. Raytheon and Norway’s Kongsberg, the NSM is a sea-skimming, over-the-horizon missile with a range of roughly 115 miles, according to the manufacturers. Under Latvia’s acquisition plan, the systems are to be delivered after 2025, according to the ministry.

This year, Riga plans to spend about €987 million, close to $1.1 billion, on its armed forces, or about 2.25% of Latvia’s GDP.

In addition to the forthcoming NSM purchase, the Latvian ministry also plans to sign a contract to buy six M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, this spring. The other two Baltic States, Estonia and Lithuania, have also signed contracts to purchase HIMARS for their respective militaries since Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——拉脱维亚政府本周投票授权采购海军打击导弹反舰武器，以加强该国在波罗的海的岸防能力。

就在美国国防安全合作局宣布国务院已批准价值约 1.1 亿美元的对外军售计划之际，内阁做出了这一决定。

拉脱维亚国防部在一份声明中表示，拉脱维亚军队将“比原计划提前约五年”获得与反舰导弹系统、中程防空和火炮相关的“关键能力”。

拉脱维亚国防部长伊娜拉·穆尔涅采表示：“这套导弹系统的采购标志着拉脱维亚武装部队向新的防御能力转型，拥有了更强大的火力和更远的目标摧毁范围，并将显著加强拉脱维亚海岸的防御。”

据制造商称，NSM导弹由美国雷神公司和挪威康斯伯格公司联合研制，是一种掠海超视距导弹，射程约为115英里。拉脱维亚国防部表示，根据拉脱维亚的采购计划，该系统将于2025年后交付。

今年，里加计划在武装部队上花费约 9.87 亿欧元（接近 11 亿美元），约占拉脱维亚国内生产总值的 2.25%。

除了即将采购的NSM导弹系统外，拉脱维亚国防部还计划在今年春季签署一份合同，购买六套M142高机动性火箭炮系统（HIMARS）。自2022年2月俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，另外两个波罗的海国家——爱沙尼亚和立陶宛——也已签署合同，为其各自军队采购HIMARS系统。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。