Norwegian Armed Forces

[randomradio]

Qatar has become the first country to purchase NASAMS with AMRAAM-ER as its primary missile. The US likely to follow.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) announced it was awarded two direct commercial sales contracts by the State of Qatar for additional integrated air and missile defense capability. The contracts, worth approximately $2.2 billion, include the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, final certification of the AMRAAM®-Extended Range missile, and an unspecified quantity of additional Patriot™ fire units. These awards are part of a larger agreement being pursued by the Qataris with the U.S. government. The combined value is expected to total up to $3B.

Qatar is the first country to procure AMRAAM-ER, the surface-to-air extended-range variant of the combat-proven AMRAAM air-to-air-missile. Qatar also becomes the 11th country to procure NASAMS, a medium-range air-defense solution manufactured by Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS. NASAMS uses the Raytheon Sentinel radar, and fires multiple interceptors, including AMRAAM-ER.

Qatar To Get AMRAAM-ER Surface To Air Missiles, U.S. Capital May Be Next

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AMRAAM-ER testing

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The primary missile used by NASAMS is the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile—a missile that was designed to be launched at altitude and with the benefit of the speed of its launching aircraft. It's thought that the current AIM-120 equipped NASAMS has a range of around 20 miles and a maximum ceiling of about 50,000 feet. Leveraging the ESSM's motor and control section—a system that was designed from scratch to be fired from the surface of the earth—reportedly boosted NASAMS' engagement range about at 50 percent and increased its ceiling by 70 percent. Keep in mind that these figures are likely conservative if not deliberately discounted. In addition, the missile should have better energy management and a greater ability to take down low-flying, fast-flying, and hard maneuvering targets.

Another win for the Norwegian defence industry. Another satisfied customer.

@randomradio

Looks like they don't wanna reveal the number of batteries ordered.

 

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Registering a polar bear near the Svalbard archipelago.

 

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Breach and clear exercise by the Norwegian Army's Armored and Engineering Battalions. This set shows off the standard kit of a soldier in the Norwegian Army.

Almost never see a shotgun in service with the Norwegian Army outside of special operations units. 10 points to anyone that can ID the shotgun.

 

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New soldiers to Telemark Battalion being put through their paces.

 

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One other pic - M72A9 Light Anti-Structure Munition used by the Norwegian Special Operations Command in Afghanistan. Forces in Afghanistan have had access to all sorts of more specialized equipment.

The venerable LAW has really found a nice niche on the modern battlefield as an in-between weapon system bridging the gap between heavy anti-tank/structure munitions like Spike, Milan and Javelin and reusable launchers like the Carl Gustav.

Riot shields have also been used by the Norwegian Armed Forces in Afghanistan, which you rarely see in the homeland.

 

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Fleet replenishment ship KNM Maud.

 

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EOD techs train with allied forces during exercise Precise Response 2019 in Canada. Norway has been part of several international CBRNE task forces, including the RECSYR mission to secure and dispose of Syria's chemical stockpile.

 

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Aspirants seeking to become members of FSK being put through physical trials before selection even begins.

Good luck lads and ladies. And welcome to Hell.

 

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Aspirants seeking to become members of FSK being put through physical trials before selection even begins.

FSK is one of Norway's special operations groups with extensive experience in Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Algeria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, among other non-publicized areas of operations. The unit isn't subservient to any branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces and is the country's premier special operations group comparable to the British SAS and American Delta.

Few, if any, of the aspirants above will make the cut and pass pre-selection.

 

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KV Tor crew drills while policing near shore.

 

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Torturing a new batch of recruits.

Yeah, you're smiling now. But just wait. Just you wait.

 

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KV Svalbard becomes the first ever Norwegian vessel to reach the North Pole, doing so on 21 August, 2019. It's an interesting quirk for a nation of proud sailors and arctic explorers including Helge Ingstad, Erik the Red, Fridtjof Nansen, and Carsten Borchgrevink. Shows just how difficult of a feat navigating the Arctic is.

Few surface vessels have reached the North Pole with the Russian nuclear Ice Breaker Artika being the first in 1972. In 1991 Sweden's Oden and Germany's Polarstern became the first conventionally powered vessels to sail these waters. A number of American nuclear submarines have also breached the North. USS Nautilus being the first in 1958.

 

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KV Svalbard becomes the first ever Norwegian vessel to reach the North Pole, doing so on 21 August, 2019. It's an interesting quirk for a nation of proud sailors and arctic explorers including Helge Ingstad, Erik the Red, Fridtjof Nansen, and Carsten Borchgrevink. Shows just how difficult of a feat navigating the Arctic is.

Few surface vessels have reached the North Pole with the Russian nuclear Ice Breaker Artika being the first in 1972. In 1991 Sweden's Oden and Germany's Polarstern became the first conventionally powered vessels to sail these waters. A number of American nuclear submarines have also breached the North. USS Nautilus being the first in 1958.

A couple more pictures of this historic voyage.

 

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NOR TU 4 mission in Iraq. The NOR TU mission is primarily a training operation to prepare Iraqi security personnel for a post-occupation Iraq.

But not exclusively. Norwegian troops also conduct recon patrols and will assist Iraqi and foreign partners during combat ops if necessary.

 

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Breach and clear exercise by the Norwegian Army's Armored and Engineering Battalions. This set shows off the standard kit of a soldier in the Norwegian Army.

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Almost never see a shotgun in service with the Norwegian Army outside of special operations units. 10 points to anyone that can ID the shotgun.

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Mossberg 500???

 

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One other pic - M72A9 Light Anti-Structure Munition used by the Norwegian Special Operations Command in Afghanistan. Forces in Afghanistan have had access to all sorts of more specialized equipment.

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The venerable LAW has really found a nice niche on the modern battlefield as an in-between weapon system bridging the gap between heavy anti-tank/structure munitions like Spike, Milan and Javelin and reusable launchers like the Carl Gustav.

Riot shields have also been used by the Norwegian Armed Forces in Afghanistan, which you rarely see in the homeland.

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Please do provide a Bit of info on what had happened here ??? when and where ??

 

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A couple more pictures of this historic voyage.

Seen the Top Gear Polar Special - where they drove to the North Pole

I DID NOT know that a ship can reach the same !!! WOW!!!

 

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I can feel what he feel - seeing this pic

 

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NOR TU 4 mission in Iraq. The NOR TU mission is primarily a training operation to prepare Iraqi security personnel for a post-occupation Iraq.

But not exclusively. Norwegian troops also conduct recon patrols and will assist Iraqi and foreign partners during combat ops if necessary.

Badger?

 

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Mossberg 500???

Possibly, but I don't think so given the magazine on the Mossberg 500 doesn't extend the full length of the barrel, except on stake-out models. My guess is that it's a Benelli M4, but to be honest, I don't actually know.

Shotguns are so rare in Norwegian service that it's almost like they don't exist.

Badger?

Probably a pole-cat or mink. Badgers are pretty uncommon this far north, but they do exist.

I DID NOT know that a ship can reach the same !!! WOW!!!

It's a very rare feat and few ships are capable of making the voyage. As of this year less then 80 voyages have successfully reached the geographic North Pole, out of thousands of years of mankind sailing the seas and numerous attempts to reach the North

Of the voyages that have reached the North, many have been by the same vessel. Sweden's Oden has made the journey 4 times, Germany's Polarstern 3 and same with the US Navy's Healy and Polar Sea and a whopping 54 times by Russian and Soviet ships.

Of the less then 80 successful missions to the North Pole, it's mostly been the same ships over and over again. Only a dozen or so surface vessels have made the trip. It's and impressive, and very, very difficult feat.

Please do provide a Bit of info on what had happened here ??? when and where ??

Where and when - Kabul, Afghanistan circa 2012. You can tell the pictures are older because of the rifle the soldiers are carrying. Nowadays the HK-416K is used for CQB operations by Norwegian special forces.

But in those pictures the rifle shown in the hands of Norwegian forces is a C8 carbine.

Those photos are from a 2012 siege on the Kabul Star Hotel and US, Germany, British and Iranian embassies in Kabul which left 47 combatants dead and nearly 300 civilians where rescued by a combined Afghan, Norwegian and Kiwi contingent. The Norwegian unit, Hærens Jegerkommando, now known as Forsvarets Spesialkommando, or FSK for short, was the principle response team and was responsible for the most hostile casualties and civilians rescued, operating alongside Afghan crisis response units. Norwegian special forces continue to the be the primary support units in country when crisis situations ensue.

Of the 47 casualties 39 where militants, 8 where afghan soldiers. 5 civilians where killed in the crossfire.

Even today, despite a focus on training Afghan special police, Norwegian forces respond to crisis situations with kinetic support. FSK alongside MJK and KJK currently train Afghanistan's special forces, which you can see more of in this thread.

Training CRU222 - my time in Afghanistan.