Kongsberg reports 28% revenue increase in defense sector partially driven by U.S. programs

(Editor’s note: Kongsberg reported their quarterly financial information in Norwegian Krone. This story uses the conversion rate to the U.S. dollar as of July 10, 2024.)

Kongsberg defense revenue increased by 28% for the second quarter of 2024 driven in part by U.S. air defense and remotely operated weapon systems, company executives reported during a quarterly earnings presentation today.

With defense segment revenues at $413 million, President and CEO Geir Håøy said programs with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army “were an important milestone” in the Norwegian company’s defense profits for the second quarter of this year.

Kongsberg’s defense segment is currently contracted to produce the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) for the U.S. Air Force and the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) for the U.S. Army.

In total, the company reported an approximate $1.08 billion in revenue with growth ranging from 8% to 28% across all segments, which include maritime, aerospace and digital design.

Based off the Navy’s Strike Missile, the JSM is an air-launched cruise missile with a 345-mile range designed to be fired from an F-35.

“The U.S. Air Force is by far the largest purchaser of F-35s and represent a huge potential for our missile going forward,” Håøy said during the presentation. “We expect more countries to order the missile in the next years.”

Kongsberg also opened a new factory associated with the JASM, which Håøy added would contribute to further growth.

The CROWS is a remotely operated machine gun that allows soldiers the fire on targets from inside combat vehicles without having to expose themselves to enemy fire. The Army is currently fitting the system to the Stryker combat vehicle, according to service budget documents.

Mette Toft Bjørgen, the company’s financial officer, noted that CROWS was the “largest contributor” to growth in the defense segment.

Partnering with Textron, Kongsberg is also designing lethal payloads for the U.S. Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle program, an unmanned vehicle designed to operate alongside manned units.