Latvia orders Saab RBS 70 missiles 42210153

Defence & Security News - (Latvia)
 
Latvia orders Saab RBS 70 missiles
The Latvian Ministry of Defence has placed an order for Saab RBS 70 missiles, that would be delivered in the 2015-16 period. The new batch of missiles will complement the existing one, given that Latvia has been a customer of the MANPADS since 2004.
     
Latvia orders Saab RBS 70 missiles
US soldiers train with their Latvian counterparts on the Saab RBS 70 (Source: US Army)
     

The Latvian Defence Minister, Raimonds Bergmanis, stated after signing the contract that “anti-missile defense is one of our main and strategic priority in order to strengthen Latvia`s defense and security. The agreement between Saab and the Ministry of Defence of Republic of Latvia will demonstrate excellent cooperation between Sweden and Latvia, which builds trust and confidence with regard to the security in the region. Sweden is a very good partner in the anti-missile defence field and our cooperation has a long history. It is very symbolic, because it started in 2004 when Latvia joined NATO and based on that cooperation we have trained many soldiers Latvia`s Armed Forces”.

The system has an effective range between 200 and 8,000 metres, at altitudes of up to 5,000m. The operator guides the missile through an integrated high-resolution thermal imager with a night sight capability. The system can be used in a stand-alone mode or on a vehicle, supporting mobile units, or as a VSHORADS integrated on a C2 system in conjunction with other launchers.