Australian Army prepares NASAMS for induction

Elements of a NASAMS battery are pictured at the Australian Army's Exercise ‘Raptor's Strike' at the Cultana Training Area in South Australia. (Commonwealth of Australia)

The Australian Army's 10th Fires Brigade has trialled its National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) at Exercise ‘Raptor's Strike' at the Cultana Training Area in South Australia.

Australia's Department of Defence (DoD) said on 3 June that the exercise, conducted in late May, comprised a series of operational scenarios carried out by soldiers of the 16th Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA) in support of declaring full operational capability. The regiment is a subunit of the 10th Fires Brigade, based at the Edinburgh Defence Precinct in South Australia.

According to the DoD, the exercise tested the movement, set-up, operation, and repositioning of personnel and assets to maintain protection against aerial threats.

Citing Brigadier Corey Shillabeer, the commander of the 10th Fires Brigade, the DoD said NASAMS demonstrated the ability to detect and track aerial threats using a range of sensors and engage targets with different missiles. Brig Shillabeer added that the service is prioritising logistics, mobility, and system survivability alongside interception capability.

The 2026 trials follow a live-fire certification activity conducted in May 2025, during which air-to-air missiles (AAMs) were fired from NASAMS. In this activity, the Australian Army fired Raytheon's Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 Advanced Medium‐Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) at the Woomera Test Range in South Australia.

During those trials, missiles from both NASAMS and Thales Hawkei launcher vehicles were fired at a single target in a ‘ripple fire' engagement. This followed an 18-month training programme for 16th Regiment personnel.