– This is terribly sad. A huge intervention in nature that should have been avoided if the Defense Forces had done their job. Here are some of the most endangered species we have in Norwegian forests. That’s what Gjermund Andersen of the Nature Conservation Association says as he looks out over the field. A two kilometer long road has already been constructed. Blasting work on the top plateau has been done. Construction machines and guardrails mark the field up towards Gyrihaugen in Ringerike municipality. By autumn 2025, “NATO’s new eyes in the north” should be ready right here. Now there will be nothing of the planned radar system, which will monitor Norwegian and nearby airspace, despite the work that has already been done. Gjermund Andersen of the Nature Conservation Association is shocked by the Norwegian Armed Forces and the intervention they have made in nature. Photo: Eirik Sørenmo Påsche / news – An institution as large as the Armed Forces, with so many resources, has not been able to do its job. There should be consequences. Shocking, says Andersen. Must stop the construction of radar installations Forsvarsbygg has been commissioned by the Storting to build new and upgrade existing radar installations throughout the country. Three existing ones will be continued, five radar systems will be established in new locations. The price tag for all facilities is a total of NOK 8 billion. All radar systems must be operational in 2030. The first of the new areas was Gyrihaugen in Ringerike municipality, which was to be completed in autumn 2025. This is what the new radar system would look like at Gyrihaugen. Illustration: Defense building On Tuesday 11 July, however, the Norwegian Defense Forces announced in a press release that Gyrihaugen was being scrapped as a location for the planned radar facility. The radar will interfere with other installations in adjacent areas. – Very regrettable Defense Materiel has overall responsibility for the implementation of the project, supported by Forsvarsbygg, which is responsible for building the facilities. Press officer in the Ministry of Defence, Vegard Norstad Finberg, tells news that many safety and risk assessments have been made along the way. Previous analyzes and tests indicated that the radar could be combined with other infrastructure in the area. Nevertheless: – New interference and robustness tests where a real radar is simulated, carried out by the Norwegian Defense Research Institute, show that the radar cannot be placed on Gyrihaugen because it will interfere with other facilities in the vicinity, writes Finberg in a written reply to news. The project work has therefore been stopped at the request of the Norwegian Armed Forces. Here, on top of Gyrihaugen, the radar system was to be located. Photo: Eirik Sørenmo Påsche / news – It is very regrettable that this is being clarified late in the process and something we would have liked to have been clarified earlier so that we avoided the natural interventions, concludes Finberg. He says that the rest of the project is proceeding as planned, with foundation work underway at several of the other selected locations. Contracts for 70 million Frode Vik Jensen, communications director at Forsvarsbygg, says that they have entered into contracts worth approximately NOK 70 million at the Gyrihaugen location. – What are you doing now, should it be reset – and what is the framework? – Forsvarsbygg is now entering into a dialogue with the stakeholders to find the best possible solution to the situation that has arisen. We are in dialogue with our suppliers and follow up with them in accordance with the contracts. It is too early to say anything concrete about costs. We will have to come back to this once we have clarified which alternatives we will continue to work on, replies Jensen. Frode Vik Jensen in Defense Building. Photo: Forsvarsbygg Believes this must have consequences Mayor of Ringerike municipality, Kirsten Orebråten (Ap), believes the Defense must take the consequences. – I hope they restore the area. It all seems a bit messy and weird, and I think that’s unfortunate. Mayor of Ringerike, Kirsten Orebråten. Photo: Ringerike municipality Gjermund Andersen of the Nature Conservation Association believes it is shocking that the Norwegian Armed Forces have started the work, only to find out that it is not possible to have a radar system there after all. – Spending millions on a path that they had no idea could not bring the result they wanted… they should have discovered this sooner, he says. Ringerikes Blad writes that the road to the top of Gyrihaugen has a cost frame of NOK 16 million. The construction of the new road has been going on since June 2022. But it has been a waste of time and money. Photo: Eirik Sørenmo Påsche / news – When you think about national security values, doesn’t it have a value? – Of course. But then you have to find out where you can have the radar before you start building, answers Andersen. He believes that this must have consequences in the form of mitigation measures. – Perhaps the Norwegian Armed Forces should pay for the protection of this entire large peak area. Gjermund Andersen is shocked by the Armed Forces. Photo: Eirik Sørenmo Påsche / news – Do you think it’s realistic? – These are words that we at the Nature Conservation Association try to avoid, because we believe that anything is possible if you just fight and argue enough for it. We are satisfied that we will not get a radar station at the top, so something has already been achieved, says Andersen. The Defense Staff has tasked Defense Material to come up with a recommendation for a new location by 1 September 2023.
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Must scrap NATO’s radar system on Gyrihaugen in Ringerike – The Norwegian Nature Conservation Union reacts – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
