Norwegian Coastal Forces evaluate new drones to detect threats at sea
HARSTAD, Norway - A few hundred kilometres from a Russian naval base in the Murmansk Oblast, a formation of military vessels plies the icy waters of the Norwegian Sea.
A group of officers, with the Norwegian flag on their uniforms, move from a moving vessel to a larger one, an offshore patrol vessel of the Norwegian Coast Guard, using a pole with a hook and a precarious ladder to hoist themselves aboard.
They are part of the Norwegian Coastal Rangers, a marine command unit trained to operate in coastal combat environments. As part of the NATO exercise Joint Viking 2025, organised earlier this month, they trained for the operation to board a suspicious ship.
The ship boarding scenario has become central in recent alliance defence planning. Western officials fear that NATO adversaries will use ships under the guise of research missions or civil transports to damage submarine cables and energy infrastructure in European waters.
The small Norwegian unit, consisting of around 150 individuals, is extremely versatile and tasked with missions ranging from coastal raids and maritime patrols to intelligence gathering. With sabotage risks in mind for NATO, formations like this are gaining new importance in national force structures.
In its annual national threat assessment report, the Norwegian Police Security Services have noticed that in the past year, Russia has demonstrated 'its determination and ability to carry out sabotage operations on European soil' and that it is 'likely' that it could affect Norway in 2025.
The NATO member shares a 198-kilometre (123-mile) land border with Russia in the Arctic and a sea border in the Barents Sea.
Although the Coastal Rangers have not noticed an increase in the number of illegal or sanctioned vessels sailing along the Norwegian coast, officers have noted that there has been an increase in the level of electromagnetic disturbance in recent years.
The Norwegian defence authorities recently approved a series of upgrades to modernise and expand the capabilities of the ranger unit. These include the acquisition of new unmanned technologies, including drones for long-range maritime surveillance, according to Frode Nakken, commander of the Coastal Rangers.
"We have been operating drones for a few years, mainly fixed-wing models, but they have proven vulnerable to the Arctic climate - the larger, long-range drones we will get will have more endurance and power to withstand these conditions," he told Defense News during the Joint Viking exercise.
Winter temperatures in northern Norway can easily drop to -10 degrees Celsius, where the cold quickly drains the battery life of drones and heavy rainfall makes it difficult for operators to fly them.
The Norwegian Defence Pledge 2025-2036 stated that the ambition is to have the unmanned aircraft systems stationed at the Andøya Air Station, some 300 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defence contacted US manufacturers, including Northrop Grumman and General Atomics regarding this request for information, as reported by Janes.
A spokesman for General Atomics told Defense News that the company has already responded to the solicitation by offering its MQ-9B SeaGuardian.
"It will provide Norway with 360-degree maritime radar coverage and full SIGINT capabilities - the MQ-9B is the only remotely piloted aircraft capable of executing anti-submarine warfare missions, allowing the country's existing fleet of P-8 patrol aircraft to be upgraded," said spokesman C. Mark Brinkley.
Published by Condoralex
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