Saab's Bolide missile is the company's fourth-generation very short range air defense missile, designed to engage smaller targets from shorter distances. Photo by the U.S. Navy.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Saab Defense has received a $12.4 million order from NATO for RBS 70 Bolide missiles with deliveries expected to place between 2016 and 2017.

The order comes as part of NATO's effort to strengthen its air defense capabilities. Saab's Bolide missile is classified as a very short-range air defense missile, and can be armed to both fixed and rotary wing aircraft to engage targets from short distances.


"This is a great order for Saab and it will further improve the customer´s capabilities and place it on the forefront when it comes to air defense systems," Saab's Dynamics Missile Systems business head Stefan Öberg said in a statement. "This order is a proof of their trust in our knowledge and in the RBS 70 system."

RBS 70 missile system features include automatic target tracking, an integrated thermal imager, visual target assignment, and the ability to detect several targets at a time. The system also features an all-target capability with the Bolide missile.

The system and the missile have been purchased by armed forces in 19 countries.