An agreement signed last year between Radionor Communications and the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency will provide tactical radio equipment to the Norwegian Armed Forces, ensuring secure mobile communications and resilience against Electronic Warfare (EW).
Secure communication through new tactical radios is an important part of the modernization of combat-ready Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for the Norwegian Armed Forces. The radios will be used in both the land and sea domains.
Colonel Lars Birkheim, Head of Communications and ICT in the Army, stated, “The acquisition of radios for tactical mobile broadband will be an important capability for both the Army and the Armed Forces that will strengthen our ability for secure and robust communication. Based on the increasing need for data processing and information sharing, it is expected that Radionor’s technology will be able to create greater scope for static and mobile, tactical units at various levels in the Armed Forces. Tactical mobile broadband will be a good addition to support the needs of the Armed Forces’ combat-ready ICT systems today and in the future.”
The delivery is part of Program Mime, which includes combat-ready ICT for the Armed Forces. The delivery will constitute an important component in the realization of the hybrid concept, where several types of both military and commercial communication technologies will be used to ensure communication capabilities under virtually all conditions. The agreement also covers the ordering of additional equipment if the need arises, so that requirements for readiness are met.
Gro Jære, Director of Defence Materiel, added, “For us, it is important that this solution strengthens the Armed Forces’ operational capability and ensures future-oriented development of important capacities on the ground, in the air and at sea. It is also gratifying that we were able to carry out one comprehensive procurement that covers the needs across domains. We look forward to a good collaboration with Radionor for many years to come.”
Radionor Communications is a leader in digital array beamforming technology, which concentrates and directs radio waves in a completely different way than traditional wireless communication systems. The technology is designed from the ground up to handle the most demanding military operations of the future.
Its advanced communications technology has built-in navigation, which can serve as an alternative to satellite-based navigation in tactical operations for land, sea and air platforms over long distances.
Raymond Søderholm, CEO of Radionor Communications AS, commented, “We are proud to have won the competition to deliver next-generation tactical wireless broadband to the Norwegian Armed Forces. With this contract, the Norwegian Armed Forces has chosen to acquire high-tech IP-based broadband communications, developed for crisis and war, and built to withstand electronic warfare. The solution helps strengthen the Norwegian Armed Forces’ ability to command and control, as well as the integration of effector and sensor systems in multi-domain operations. All development and production takes place in Norway, with headquarters in Trondheim.”
The framework agreement has a value of at least NOK 110 million, and a duration of 3 years with an option to extend for a 4th year.
