NATO flexes maritime might with new Norwegian missile shield
NATO naval manoeuvres conducted in the North Sea have been recognised as one of the most important deterrent activities of the Alliance this year. During Formidable Shield 2025, NATO is practising defence against Russian missiles and testing a new anti-aircraft system developed in Norway called NOMADS.
The Formidable Shield exercises are a biennial NATO initiative aimed at conducting air defence training. Alongside land exercises using ground-based missile launchers, a significant portion of the manoeuvres is conducted at sea, involving numerous ships and aircraft—both multipurpose and specialised maritime patrol aircraft.
In 2025, the international manoeuvres are being held in the North Sea near the Norwegian island of Andøya. There is a missile range there where Polish NSM missile launcher crews, among others, are training. After the exercises in northern Norway are completed, NATO units will continue them off the coast of Scotland. Formidable Shield 2025 is the largest NATO maritime exercise, during which various types of weapons are used in firing drills.
The exercises are conducted by the U.S. Sixth Fleet and STRIKFORNATO—a command integrating American naval forces with NATO operations. This year's exercise scenario includes combatting airborne subsonic and supersonic targets, as well as various types of maritime targets.
NOMADS – the new Norwegian air defence system
During the manoeuvres, NATO member Norway is testing its new air defence system NOMADS (Norwegian Manoeuvre Air Defence System). The first launchers were delivered in 2024, and by 2028 the Norwegian army is expected to receive six NOMADS systems. This is another air defence system developed by Norwegians, following the NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System).
NOMADS was created according to specific criteria—it's a highly mobile system mounted on a tracked chassis (although its design allows integration with various types of carriers) and is meant to provide Norwegian units with air defence both on the move and while stationary.
The NOMADS system is adapted to launch AIM-9 missiles and their European counterparts—the IRIS-T SLS missiles. These are air-to-air missiles originally developed for aircraft armament. The integration of ground systems with airborne missiles is a feature that NASAMS and NOMADS share, providing significant benefits to their users.
Ground launcher with air-to-air missiles
One of these benefits is the use of missiles that, due to strict aviation standards, cannot be mounted on aircraft after surpassing their operational life. The desire to utilise missiles withdrawn by the air force led to the development of NASAMS (which can fire AIM-120 AMRAAM and short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles).
Using the same missiles in both land-based and aerial systems also simplifies logistics and allows for more efficient use of existing stockpiles.
Both AIM-9 and AIM-120 missiles are widely used and readily available—they are standard armaments on U.S.-developed aircraft like the F-16, F-18, F-35, and are also integrated with aircraft developed outside the USA, such as FA-50, JAS-39 Gripen, and Eurofighter. The IRIS-T missile is also used by many European NATO countries.
As a result, the risk of running out of missiles for NASAMS and NOMADS systems is minimal. The practical significance of this solution is demonstrated in the war in Ukraine, where the NASAMS system is successfully used against Russian targets and is not limited by issues with access to anti-aircraft missiles.
This is appreciated by foreign clients—apart from the Norwegian army, NASAMS systems have been purchased by the armed forces of several countries—outside NATO and Europe as well, such as Kuwait, Oman, and Taiwan. NOMADS, merely a year after its debut, has also secured its first international order. The Netherlands decided to purchase this system, which will replace its Fennek SWP vehicles equipped with Stinger missiles.
