HELSINKI \u2014 As Russia strengthens its naval, air and ground forces in its northern territories, Norway has responded by scaling-up manpower, equipment and Arctic combat units as part of a broader reinforcement of its High North defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norway’s program, part of the Norwegian Defense Forces’ (NDF) Smart Defense strategy, and<\/span> comprises a strong Arctic-focused dimension in funding and resource allocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Smart Defense approach to High North military reinforcement has, since 2010, placed higher priority been given <\/span>on Arctic-class specialized equipment procurement coupled with more intensive training for the NDF’s <\/span>High North-deployed ground, air and naval <\/span>units. The goal is to produce combat-ready and useable <\/span>modular combat <\/span>units that can fight independently or alongside NATO forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The NDF’s August 2009 decision to relocate the Army’s headquarters functions 1,700 kilometers (1,000 miles) <\/span>north from Oslo<\/span> to the Arctic town of Bod\u00f8 \u2014 1,700 kilometers north of Oslo \u2014 bolstered Norway’s commitment to establishing an integrated High North operational <\/span>defense system. That decision led to the establishment of the Joint Operational Command Headquarters (JOCH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This new approach system <\/span>is centered around reorganized and <\/span>more compact units and forces <\/span>equipped with the best available in class <\/span>Arctic fighting equipment and capable of delivering greater firepower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The JOCH is currently <\/span>overseeing the evolution of Norway’s High North defenses into a centralized command and coordinated fighting structure that will be able to call upon an Air Force (NAF) <\/span>equipped with the<\/span> F-35s, forward Army battalions deploying CV90 tracked armored fighting vehicles and high mobility Archer artillery units, and a strengthened<\/span> stronger Navy naval branch<\/span> operating anti-aircraft and submarine-hunting Arctic-class Fridtjof Nansen frigates and Skjold corvettes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The scaling-up of Norway’s defense capabilities in the High North is happening while against a backdrop where <\/span>the country’s <\/span>military intelligence services are urging the government to adopt a more cautious posture toward on <\/span>Russia’s increasing militarization in the High North <\/span>region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Although the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) believes Norway is under no “short- to medium-term threat” from Russia, its latest open threat evaluation assessment, FOKUS-2015, advocates forward-looking cautious <\/span>vigilance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Threat is a combination of two factors; capacity and intention,” NIS chief Lt. Gen. Kjell Grandhagen said. “Although capacity is increasing, it is difficult for the time being to see a rational reason for Russian military activity against Norway in a short- to medium-term perspective. But intentions can change over time, and it is therefore now increasingly important for Norway to follow Russia’s long-term political, economic and military development.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NIS’s<\/span> intel-gathering capacity will be in the High North <\/span>is set to be <\/span>enhanced once its new advanced signals intelligence Sigint <\/span>ship, the Marjata 11, enters service in the High North and Barents Sea in 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the Smart Defense program, \u00d8rland, located on the mid-Norway coast, and Evenes, above Norway’s Arctic Circle, will become the main operating bases for F-35 aircraft and, during more regular joint exercises, NATO aircraft and forces. Evenes also will house a Quick Reaction Alert squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00d8rland, Evenes and the NDF’s core High North battalions will also be equipped with an updated the up-dated NASAMS II (<\/span>Norwegian advanced surface-to-air missile system, medium- to long range air-defense system, <\/span>which is being mainly <\/span>deployed primarily to protect key military installations, warfare units and infrastructure against air-to-surface attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The system uses ‘s ability to use <\/span>active missiles and different types of sensors, boosting providing important <\/span>firepower for elevates NASAMS’ importance as a formidable fire-power tool within <\/span>the NDF’s Smart Defense and High North military-<\/span>strengthening program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Archer, the next-generation self-propelled artillery system developed as a joint project with Sweden, also increases boosts adds to the <\/span>NDF’s <\/span>firepower. capacity in the High North.<\/span> Norway plans to deploy 24 Archer systems complete with fully automated 155 mm\/L52 howitzer guns and M151 Protector remote-controlled weapon stations. These are mounted on modified Volvo A30 six-wheel-drive 6×6 <\/span>chassis all-terrain articulated haulers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n The Arctic-class Archer’s RCHER’s<\/span>high tactical mobility, <\/span>operational strike-and-run capacity makes it ideal in the hilly and forested terrains of the High North. Moreover, the precision and multiple-strike <\/span>Archer can fire is capable of firing <\/span>Nexter Bonus and Raytheon\/Bofors XM982 Excalibur guided rounds over respective distances of 34 kilometers (22 miles) <\/span>and 60 kilometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, <\/span>As part of High North defense-strengthening, <\/span>The NDF also is establishing a specialized Arctic-trained “professional” rapid reaction force north (RRFN), based in Troms County and drawn from enlisted soldiers. The RRFN is <\/span>set to become fully operational in 2017. The core of the <\/span>armored <\/span>RRFN unit’s core will comprise an existing armored battalion and a motorized infantry battalion equipped with CV90 infantry fighting vehicles IFVs <\/span>and Leopard 2 tanks<\/p>\n\n\n\n Norway’s ability future capacity <\/span>to defend its High North territories has <\/span>also received a boost been advanced <\/span>from the Defense Ministry’s of Defense’s <\/span>US (MoD) <\/span>$1.6 billion program to re-equip its core forward armored brigade units with CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicles, (IFVs) <\/span>as <\/span>part of the NDF’s biggest ever <\/span>fighting vehicle modernization project investment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the Apart from the procurement of new <\/span>CV90-variant procurement, armored vehicles, <\/span><\/span>The modernization program also includes the overhaul of the Army’s 103 CV90-30s, bought in the mid-1990s and deployed with the Telemark and other High North core battalions. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The vehicle fleet upgrade, with delivery scheduled from BAE Systems in 2015-17, will include 74 modernized and armor-strengthened infantry fighting vehicles, 21 reconnaissance, 16 multirole (mortar carrier or cargo), 15 command and control, 16 engineering, vehicles, <\/span>in addition to two driver training vehicle types. <\/p>\n\n\n\n