Norway contracts Kongsberg to develop radio terminal

Kongsberg is developing the Thor tactical radio for the Norwegian Armed Forces under project Mime. The latest contract involves developing the Thor Remote Control Terminal. (Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace)

Kongsberg has been contracted by the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) to develop the Thor Remote Control Terminal (tRCT).

The contract, valued at NOK255 million (USD22.9 million), is part of the Mime tactical communications and information systems (CIS) programme intended to digitise the armed forces, the company announced on 29 April.

Kongsberg was unable to elaborate to Janes on the contract, including the delivery timeframes for contractual reasons.

The company is assisting with the delivery of Mime, from service and system integration support to facilitating wider industrial co-operation. Part of this involves developing a new tactical software-defined radio called Thor, an internet protocol (IP)-based dual-channel system providing wide-band and narrow-band connectivity.

Under this latest contract, the company will develop a new remote control terminal as part of Thor. The terminal, according to the company, will have a flexible architecture to manage operator controls and communications from concurrent Thor radios. The terminal will be equipped with interfaces, enabling standalone high-grade crypto solutions for other communication bearers such as satellites, 5G, and fixed infrastructure, the company detailed.

Mime seeks to modernise the armed forces' tactical CIS infrastructure for land, sea, and air domains. Key to this is the provision of ‘combat-orientated information communication technology (ICT)', which Kongsberg is in charge of delivering as strategic partner. By 2030 the aim is to have improved command-and-control (C2) as well as enhanced integration and operational effects of weapon platforms, sensor systems, and decision makers, the Norwegian Defence Sector 2018–2025 (FAF 2018–2025) report detailed.