Changes in the Norwegian Air Force – Prepares for Increased Nordic Cooperation in the North
The Chief of the Norwegian Air Force, Major General Rolf Folland, during the ceremony in Sørreisa, Northern Norway, for the merger of air defense departments for command and control into a Joint Air Operations Center. The Air Force's control and warning center is located in the Høggumpen mountain complex in Sørreisa, which continuously monitors Norwegian airspace. This is now part of the new center. (Photo: The Norwegian Armed Forces)
On Thursday, all command and control departments in the Norwegian Air Force were merged into a Joint Air Operations Center partly located in Northern Norway. "We can soon take on a leading role in planning and coordinating of air operations for NATO in the North," says the Air Force Chief.
The Norwegian Air Force has now established a Joint Air Operations Center (JAOC).
The new unit is an organizational merger of all Air Force departments for command and control: the National Air Operations Center at Reitan, Northern Norway; 131 Air Wing (responsible for the Norwegian control and warning system) with headquarters in Sørreisa, also in Northern Norway – as well as Special Operations Air Task Group (SOATG) at Rygge Air Station, Southern Norway. SOATG is a unit with support functions defined by NATO.
"This is necessary for us to utilize modern weapon systems efficiently, as well as lead air operations that support all domains," says the head of the new JAOC, Brigadier Tron Strand.
"The restructuring is being done to utilize the new technology of the P-8 and F-35 aircraft, i.a., more efficiently. It is also a preparation for increased Nordic cooperation. We can soon take on a leading role in planning and coordinating air operations for NATO in the North," says the Air Force Chief, Major General Rolf Folland.
The idea of establishing a Nordic Air Operations Center has been very well received, and there are now also discussions of developing such a center at an Arctic scale, said Folland to High North News in the fall.
No employees will lose their jobs or have to move due to the merger, the Armed Forces says to Folkebladet.
The article has been updated with a correction regarding the geographical location of JAOC. An earlier version only mentioned Sørreisa as a location, but it is the case that the center will also be located at Reitan and Rygge.
