Norway's Kongsberg doubles new orders in the third quarter

Norway's Kongsberg ended the third quarter of 2026 with a record order backlog of NOK 174.2 billion (about $18.8 billion), after taking in NOK 23.3 billion (about $2.5 billion) in new orders, more than double the NOK 9.5 billion it booked in the same quarter last year. The defense group reported on Oct. 29 that third-quarter revenue rose 50% to NOK 11.3 billion (about $1.2 billion), while operating profit, or EBIT, climbed 66% to NOK 1.9 billion (about $205 million). The backlog grew by NOK 16.7 billion during the quarter, and orders so far this year total NOK 67 billion (about $7.2 billion). Its book-to-bill ratio, which compares new orders with revenue in the same period, was 2.06, meaning Kongsberg booked about twice as much new work as it delivered. The figures cover the defense and Discovery businesses Kongsberg kept after splitting off Kongsberg Maritime as a separate listed company, so they are not directly comparable with group results reported before the split. At the end of the second quarter, the company's backlog stood at about NOK 157.5 billion and quarterly revenue at NOK 10.4 billion. "At a time when European security is being challenged, our task is to strengthen defence capabilities through technology, capacity and delivery performance. We are expanding our capacity, including in Poland, to meet growing demand. Our focus now is on executing on our strong order backlog, which provides a solid foundation for continued growth," said Eirik Lie, President and CEO of KONGSBERG. Missiles, air defense and remote weapon stations drove most of the demand. In July, the U.S. Air Force ordered more Joint Strike Missiles, the air-launched version of Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missile designed to be carried inside the F-35's weapons bay, and later in the quarter the U.S. Marine Corps signed a framework agreement with the company covering production and sustainment of the Naval Strike Missile. In October, Denmark became the seventh country to announce plans to buy the Joint Strike Missile for its F-35s. The largest single deal was in air defense. In September, Kongsberg signed a NOK 10 billion (about $1.08 billion) contract to supply the NASAMS medium-range air defense system to Belgium, which became the 18th country to order it, after Belgium agreed in July to buy 10 NASAMS systems through the Netherlands. The Dutch procurement agency signed the contract on Belgium's behalf, building on the Netherlands' own record NASAMS and NOMADS order with Kongsberg in 2024. Kongsberg also won a contract to supply remote weapon stations, gun mounts operated by a crew member from inside the vehicle, for the Canadian Army's Armoured Combat Support Vehicle program. The company counts those stations as part of its counter-drone offering, which also includes the CROWS C-UAS kit it has fitted to a donor-funded drone hunter vehicle for Ukraine. Inguar-3 armored vehicle with the Kongsberg counter-UAS technology The company is also building up its underwater and U.S. business. During the quarter, the U.S. government awarded Kongsberg a $54 million contract related to autonomous underwater capabilities, and U.S. authorities approved its purchase of Sonatech, a maker of underwater acoustic equipment. Zone 5 Technologies, the California missile maker Kongsberg bought in the second quarter to add low-cost weapons that can be built in large numbers, was selected for a $65 million U.S. Navy program during the quarter. Kongsberg has said it aims to grow annual revenue to NOK 100 billion (about $10.8 billion) by 2029, and it is expanding production capacity, including in Poland, to work through the backlog. The company did not say how much of the NOK 174.2 billion it expects to deliver in the fourth quarter.