Norwegian Army Exercise Prioritises City Defence

Residents in Trondheim, Norway, have been greeted this week by the unusual sight of missile systems being deployed around the city.

As part of Exercise Nidaros Shield, the anti-aircraft battalion from 132 Air Wing based in Ørland has been training together with HV-12 — part of the Norwegian Home Guard — to practice defending the city. The exercise is named after the city's Nidaros Cathedral, first constructed in 1070 as a memorial to King Olav II.

The air defence battalion from Ørland is equipped with the Norwegian-developed NASAMS system, which this week was scheduled to be deployed in several places in and around the city so soldiers can rehearse moving weapon systems, radars, and other equipment to create defensive positions.

Fighter aircraft were also scheduled to fly over the city as part of the exercise, and convoys of military vehicles are expected to be moving though the area at various stages between Sunday and Friday.

As per a press statement issued this week, the exercise "will provide the Norwegian Armed Forces with important training in protecting Norway against air threats."

The National (or Norwegian) Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) is an air defence system jointly developed by Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace. It's designed to provide protection against manned threats such as fighter aircraft and helicopters, as well as missiles and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

When first deployed in 2007 it was the first system to adapt the use of AIM-120 AMRAAMs (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile) to a ground-based system; there have since been two upgrades. The latest iteration, NASAMS 3, can also fire AIM-9X Sidewinder projectiles.

Versions of NASAMS are currently in use by 13 countries globally, according to Kongsberg's website. It states: "NASAMS is in operational use in Norway, Spain, USA, the Netherlands, Finland, Oman, Lithuania, Indonesia and one undisclosed customer. The system is in production for Australia, Qatar, Hungary and Ukraine... In addition Poland, Greece and Turkey operate the KONGSBERG Command and Control solution for various weapon systems."

• You can read more about the Exercise Nidaros Shield deployment in Trondheim on the Norwegian Armed Forces' website