– So far we have called up other units via radio and told them where we wanted them to shoot. It took many minutes, says Peder Skollerud. He is a vehicle commander on a CV90 storm armored vehicle and second in command in the squad. In the firing range at Rena, he is helping to show how various Norwegian ground forces can now send target data, a message about where the enemy is, much faster than before. – Now with four keystrokes we can send the same fire order within a few seconds, says Skollerud. The large 155 millimeter cannon of the K9 type fired at the target several kilometers away. In 2019 and 2020, Norway purchased 24 such artillery vehicles for the Army. Photo: Lars Børsand Amdal / The Armed Forces – Can decide in a war – This can be the difference between losing and winning in a war, says Lorns Harald Bakstad at the Defense Research Institute. He has been researching various weapons and warfare for over 20 years. Now he is the leader of an activity Researcher Lorns Harald Bakstad, Defense Research Institute FFI. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news which is called “Morgondagens hær”. Bakstad believes it is particularly important for a country like Norway not to fall behind technologically. – We must utilize our ability to use technology to achieve an effect in relation to those who can provide more equipment and personnel, he says. sent digitally from one weapon system to another. – Time is decisive. Getting “fire in the ground” quickly is important for our ability to survive, says Peder Skollerud. Photo: Ingvil Øvretveit / news During the demonstration at Rena, vehicle commander Peder Skollerud and the crew of two CV90 storm armored vehicles discovered a target. Getting fire support from heavier weapons is important for soldiers in a battle. They show how, with just a few keystrokes, they send a message to a K9 artillery vehicle that is several kilometers away. The K9 is a large cannon on an armored tracked vehicle. The cannon can fire six shots per minute with a range of 40 kilometers. On the screen, the crew controlling the big cannon has received a message about exactly what the target is. Photo: Lars Børsand Amdal / The Norwegian Armed Forces A section with bomb launchers, which is much closer, has also received the digital fire order. Now they pepper the target with grenades. Soldiers shoot with bomb launchers at the target they have been pointed out through a digital message. One bomb launcher is on the ground, the other is up in the armored personnel carrier to the right of the picture. Photo: Lars Børsand Amdal / The Armed Forces In many countries, military forces struggle to get different computer systems to communicate well with each other. In the Norwegian army, the artillery (gunners and bomb launchers) use the Odin computer system, while CV90 armored personnel carriers use the NorBMS system. – Now we have got these two systems to talk to each other. At the same time, several other sensors, for example binoculars with laser rangefinders, are also connected to Odin. In this way, target data that is retrieved from many more places can go seamlessly to the artillery, says Lieutenant-Colonel Mikkel Gorsetbakk. Lieutenant Colonel Mikkel Gorsetbakk at the Army’s weapons school. Photo: Ingvil Øvretveit / news More accurate The fact that the messages go digitally rather than over the radio means that things go faster, there is less risk of error, and that cannons and bomb launchers hit more precisely. The head of experiments at the Army Weapons School, Ola Petter Odden, says that although the technology is available in many countries, it is only in Norway that we do it this way. He gives his soldiers credit for that. – We have very up-and-coming, skilled soldiers and commanders. We trust them and distribute the workload among several people, while in other countries they let the boss do all the tasks, says Odden. The experiment leader, Major Ola Petter Odden at Hærens väpenskole (th), explains how the new system for requesting fire support digitally works. On the left, lieutenant colonel Sven Bjerke from the Norwegian Defense Research Institute and in the middle major Tor Sellevold, the Norwegian Armed Forces School. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Should Norway be exposed to an attack, technological advances like this could be decisive for the Norwegian forces. In the storm armored vehicle, vehicle commander Peder Skollerud says that the time it takes to get help from heavier artillery can be decisive for the soldiers in a battle. – Getting “fire on the ground” quickly is very important for us to survive, he says. Vice-corporal Sander Øien (left) and sergeant class 1 vehicle commander Peder Skollerud on a CV90 assault armored vehicle in the Telemark battalion. Photo: Ingvil Øvretveit / news
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New technology can determine who wins in war – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
