Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Company typeBusiness unit of Kongsberg Gruppen
IndustryMilitary
Founded1814
HeadquartersKongsberg, Norway
Area served
Global
Key people
Eirik Lie (President)
RevenueIncrease NOK 7,530 million (2012)
Increase NOK 1,036 million (2012)
Number of employees
Increase3,500 (2021)
ParentKongsberg Gruppen
Websitewww.kongsberg.com

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) is one of three business units of Kongsberg Gruppen (KONGSBERG) of Norway and a supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and weapons control systems for naval vessels and air-defence applications. Today, the company is probably best known abroad for its development/industrialisation and production of the first passive IR homing anti-ship missile of the western world, the Penguin, starting delivery in the early 1970s (when Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace was part of KONGSBERG's predecessor Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk). As of 2021, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace had 3,500 employees.

Space related activities are conducted within Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace's Space & Surveillance division and Kongsberg Satellite Services. Notable space related products from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace are the Booster Attachment and Release Mechanisms for ESA's Ariane 5. In the early 1990s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace was involved with NASA's JPL and Germany's DASA in software development of the test/checkout system, as well as spacecraft hardware production, for the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens space probe. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has also delivered the Solar Array Drive Mechanism for ESA's Rosetta space probe.

On 22 November 2008 Norwegian Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen opened a new Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace plant that will produce parts for the aircraft recently chosen as Norway's future fighter, the F-35 Lightning II.[1]

Owners and ownership in other companies

It is fully owned[2] by Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (a company majority owned by Norway's government.)[3]

Its subsidiaries are Kongsberg Spacetec AS, Kongsberg Hungaria Kft, Kongsberg Norcontrol AS, Kongsberg Defence Corp., Kongsberg Defence Oy, Kongsberg Defence Sp. Z.O.O., Kongsberg Gallium Ltd., and Kongsberg Defence Ltd. Co.[4]

It owns 50% of Kongsberg Satellite Services AS,[5] and 77% of Kongsberg NanoAvionics AUB.[6]

Toshiba-Kongsberg affair

Main article: Toshiba–Kongsberg scandal

In 1987, Toshiba Machine, a subsidiary of Toshiba, was accused of illegally selling CNC milling machines used to produce very quiet submarine propellers to the Soviet Union in violation of the CoCom agreement, an international embargo on certain countries to COMECON countries. The Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal involved a subsidiary of Toshiba and the Norwegian company Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. The incident strained relations between the United States and Japan, and resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two senior executives, as well as the imposition of sanctions on the company by both countries.[7]

Products

Integrated Director Group (IDG) – radar system for target acquisition

  • Penguin – passive heat seeking anti-ship missile
  • Naval Strike Missile (NSM) – anti-ship missile with passive imaging heat seeker. Launched from ships and land vehicles.
  • Joint Strike Missile (JSM) – sea- and land targets missile, launched from aircraft
  • Trainers and simulators for different systems
  • Mechanic and optomechanic for spaceships
  • Protector (RWS)
  • EriTac – tactical communication
  • Multi Rolle Radio (MRR) – field radios
  • ComBatt – A system for battlefield administration
  • Encryption Devices
  • NORTaC-C2IS – command- and control systems for tactical operations in the army
  • Composite Materials
  • MSI-90 uboat system – command and arms control for submarines
  • MSI 2005F – system for anti-submarine warfare, for use on frigates
  • Senit 2000 – command system for Hauk-class MTBs
  • MICOS – mine hunting and minesweeping
  • Kongsberg Mission Planning System (KAMP) – tactical system for naval operations
  • Minesniper – Remote mine destroyer
  • SLAMRAAM – surface-to-air AIM-120 air defense missiles, both as a separate system in NASAMS and integrated with HAWK
  • GBADOC – ground-based airspace control
  • Software for E3A AWACS
  • NASAMS 1-3
  • Super Sonic Strike Missile (3SM) Tyrfing

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kongsberg Defence opens new plant". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation/Aftenposten. Norway Post. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2008. [dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS - regnskapstall, nøkkeltall, telefonnummer". www.dn.no. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Nřkkelopplysninger fra Enhetsregisteret - Brřnnřysundregistrene". W2.brreg.no. 1997-05-28. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  4. ^ "Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace - Defence Systems - Kongsberg - Se Regnskap, Roller og mer". Proff.no (in Norwegian). 1997-05-28. Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  5. ^ "Kongsberg Satellite Services AS - regnskapstall, nøkkeltall, telefonnummer". www.dn.no. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  6. ^ Ieva (2022-10-25). "Kongsberg NanoAvionics announces growth plans to become the prime supplier for small satellite constellations". NanoAvionics. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  7. ^ Seeman, Roderick (April 1987). "Toshiba Case—CoCom - Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Revision". The Japan Lawletter. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
  • A Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Penguin anti-ship cruise missile.
    A Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Penguin anti-ship cruise missile.
  • US Seahawk launching AGM-119 Penguin (2002)
    US Seahawk launching AGM-119 Penguin (2002)
  • Protector RWS on top of an M1126 Stryker (2005)
    Protector RWS on top of an M1126 Stryker (2005)
  • Norwegian NASAMS (2005)
    Norwegian NASAMS (2005)