– The radar facility at Gyrihaugen will be the first facility in Norway’s new radar chain, says Ylva Sneve, project manager at Forsvarsbygg. It is the Storting that has decided that the current radar system must be replaced by new technology to meet the challenges of the future. The facility is scheduled to be completed in the autumn of 2025. – Forsvarsbygg will build a total of eight new radar facilities across the country. The new radar systems will help to strengthen Norway’s defense capability, and be NATO’s eyes in the north, explains Sneve. To spend NOK 8 billion The armed forces are to invest NOK 8 billion in the eight new radar systems. Five radar systems are to be established in new locations, while three existing radar stations are to be continued. Combined with the use of combat aircraft and ground-based air defence, it secures our airspace, and it strengthens the freedom of action of our military forces, says a press release from the Ministry of Defense when the purchase was announced last year. Defense equipment must secure property in Vestvågøy in Nordland, Vardø in Finnmark, Namsos in Trøndelag, Vågsøy in Sogn og Fjordane. This is in addition to Ringerike, Os and Tolga in Hedmark and Bjerkreim and Eigersund in Rogaland. The Defense Forum wrote in 2019 that the new radars will replace the oldest radars for air surveillance in Norway. – Large parts of today’s radars are rapidly approaching the end of their service life and must be renewed to meet the challenges of the future, said then Minister of Defense Frank Bakke-Jensen. In November 2022, Defense Materiel entered into a contract with Lockheed Martin for the delivery of the eight radars for military airspace surveillance. You can still walk to the top, but the new road will be closed during the construction period. Illustration: Defense building There will be a ban on photography of the facility At the top in Ringerike, the facility area will be fenced off. At the same time, a larger area will also be given a sign marked “Military area”. – It is important for us to show that people can still go for walks in the area and use the forest as usual. However, it is not permitted to use drones. At the top, there will be a ban on photography of the construction site, and eventually the radar system, says Sneve. The Hønefoss-based ØMF Asker Ringerike AS is the main contractor for the construction work. The contract with Forsvarsbygg has a value of NOK 42.6 million. Can still go to the top Up until now, the site has been prepared and a road to the top has been built. The buildings that stood there before have also been demolished. Construction work will start in June. Forsvarsbygg emphasizes that it will be possible to go to the top of Gyrihaugen during the construction period, but that the new road is closed to traffic. – For safety reasons, there will be some restrictions on traffic during the construction period, as on all construction sites. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but it will still be possible to go up to the top via alternative routes. We will put up signs about this in the area, says Sneve. She says that if you come from the north, it is recommended to use the path past Gyrihaugsetra, and that the road via Mørkgonga is untouched by the construction work. – If you are coming from Lommegård, we have set up a crossing point by the new road, and you can use a path that runs parallel to the road for a while before you come out on the path up to the top, explains Sneve. Forsvarsbygg says they are in dialogue with various interest organisations, and that they will return with information on how the ski slopes will be when the winter season approaches.
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Building a new radar facility in Ringerike: – The first facility in Norway’s new radar chain – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
