The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) has awarded Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG) a contract to develop tactical radio equipment, or Combat Net Radio, for the Norwegian Armed Forces. The contract value is NOK 320 million for the first phase, covering the development and delivery of a small number of radios. Secure communication through new tactical radio is an important part of the modernization of combat-related IT for the Armed Forces. The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency has entered into a long-term agreement with KONGSBERG for the delivery of tactical radio equipment to replace the current equipment. The acquisition is primarily for use in the land domain and will contribute to the maintenance and development of national capabilities, and expertise in tactical radio for military use.
“To us, it has been important to find a future solution that can meet the sector’s need for a tactical radio capacity, with the reuse of technology that has previously been developed and delivered to the Armed Forces. We have worked closely with the FFI on this delivery, to ensure that the Armed Forces receives the best equipment that meets current and future needs,” says Gro Jære, Director General of NDMA.
“We are looking forward to develop and deliver a tactical radio together with the Norwegian Armed Forces and the NDMA that is compatible with existing systems and ready for further development with future technologies,” says Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
The delivery is part of Program Mime, which includes combat-related IT for the Norwegian Armed Forces, and which has defined operational requirements and design solutions for a new tactical radio system, called THOR. KONGSBERG, together with the Norwegian Armed Forces, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) and NDMA have over decades developed very robust capacities in the field of communication, which master the demanding topographical and climatic conditions in Norway. The agreement describes several possible phases, where development and low-volume production of vehicle radio THOR VRM (Vehicle Radio Module) is the first agreed phase. Future possible phases include series deliveries, further development of software as well as maintenance support.
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) is one of three business units of Kongsberg Gruppen (KONGSBERG) of Norway and the supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and weapons control systems for naval vessels and air-defence applications. Today, the company is probably best known abroad for its development/industrialisation and production of the first passive IR homing anti-ship missile of the western world, the Penguin, starting delivery in the early 1970s (when Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace was part of KONGSBERG’s predecessor Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk). As of 2021, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace had 3,500 employees.
