Rohde & Schwarz has been awarded a new contract to deliver its high frequency (HF) liquid-cooled transmitters to the Royal Norwegian Navy.
The contract has been awarded by the Norwegian Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) procurement arm, Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (Forsvarsmateriell). It is part of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ ICT Mime programme.
The contract-signing was attended by officials, including Rohde & Schwarz Norge CEO Ove Ladegård and Forsvarsmateriell IKT-kapasiteter Eiliv Ofigsbø.
The company will deliver the high-power liquid-cooled R&S SK4110 HF high-power transmitters for installation at 20 different locations across the country.
Forsvarsmateriell Mime/MAST programme director Cathrine Devold said: “The Norwegian Armed Forces communications infrastructure is currently being renewed as part of the Mime programme. This contract gives us quick access to modern radios, to be deployed as early as 2023.”
The new generation capability is being procured to address the Norwegian forces’ demands for secure and reliable beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communications which can work in the country’s fjords and mountainous terrain, where satellite communication cannot be used. The cost-effective transmitters feature R&S M3SR Series4100 software defined radios.
This BLOS communication capability will mainly be used by the Royal Norwegian Navy for command-and-control operations.
The communications equipment and network are managed and operated by the Norwegian Cyber Defense Force (Cyberforsvaret).
Senior engineer of Cyberforsvaret CCR G6 Jørgen Inge Olsen said: “This acquisition ensures a uniform and future-oriented radio structure for modern services and robust, long-range coverage for naval vessels and other units in the entire area of interest.”
Ladegård said: “The revolutionary R&S SK4110 HF high-power transmitter with 10kW output power and HF wideband capability meets our advanced long-range BLOS communications requirements with very high data rates and maximum reliability.”
