Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Encyclopedia
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA), one of two operating companies of Kongsberg Gruppen (KOG)
of Norway
, is a supplier of defence and space related
systems and products, mainly anti-ship missile
s, military communications, and command and weapons control systems for naval vessels and air-defence applications. Today, the company is probably best known abroad for its development/industrialisation and production of the first passive IR homing
anti-ship missile of the western world, the Penguin
, starting delivery in the early 1970s (when KDA was part of KOG's predecessor Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk). The latest product which attracts huge interest is the PROTECTOR M151
Remote Weapon Station which is fielded by the US Army (main armament of the Stryker
ICV Vehicle), the Canadian Army and the Australian Army. As of 2005, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace had 1,421 employees.
Space related activities are conducted within KDA itself in addition to its subsidiaries, Kongsberg Spacetec (wholly owned) and Kongsberg Satellite Services (50% owned by KDA, 50% by the Norwegian Space Centre
), both located in Tromsø
. Notable space related products from KDA are the Booster Attachment and Release Mechanisms for ESA
's Ariane 5
. In the early 1990s KDA was involved with NASA's JPL
and Germany's DASA in software development of the test/checkout system, as well as spacecraft hardware production, for the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens
space probe. KDA has also delivered the Solar Array Drive Mechanism for ESA's Rosetta space probe.
On 22 November 2008 Norwegian Minister of Defence
Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen
opened a new KDA plant that will produce parts for the aircraft recently chosen as Norway's future fighter, the F-35 Lightning II
.
In October 2010, Kongsberg signed an agreement with Rheinmetall
on joint development of remote weapons systems.
s used to produce very quiet submarine
propellers to the Soviet Union
in violation of the CoCom
agreement, an international embargo
on certain countries to COMECON
countries. The Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal involved a subsidiary of Toshiba and the Norwegian company Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. The incident strained relations between the United States
and Japan
, and resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two senior executives, as well as the imposition of sanctions
on the company by both countries.
Kongsberg Gruppen
Kongsberg Gruppen is Norway's major defence contractor and maritime automation supplier, located in Kongsberg, a former mining town....
of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, is a supplier of defence and space related
Space technology
Space technology is technology that is related to entering, and retrieving objects or life forms from space."Every day" technologies such as weather forecasting, remote sensing, GPS systems, satellite television, and some long distance communications systems critically rely on space infrastructure...
systems and products, mainly anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missiles are guided missiles that are designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type, many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...
s, military communications, and command and weapons control systems for naval vessels and air-defence applications. Today, the company is probably best known abroad for its development/industrialisation and production of the first passive IR homing
Infrared homing
Infrared homing refers to a passive missile guidance system which uses the emission from a target of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared part of the spectrum to track and follow it. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers", since infrared is just below the...
anti-ship missile of the western world, the Penguin
Penguin missile
The Penguin anti-ship missile , made by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace of Norway from the early 1970s and continually upgraded since, is a passive-IR seeker based short-to-medium range naval guided missile...
, starting delivery in the early 1970s (when KDA was part of KOG's predecessor Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk). The latest product which attracts huge interest is the PROTECTOR M151
Protector M151
The M151 PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station is a remotely-controlled weapons station that can be mounted to vehicles and stationary platforms...
Remote Weapon Station which is fielded by the US Army (main armament of the Stryker
Stryker
The IAV Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled, 4-wheel-drive , armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III and produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, in use by the United States Army. The vehicle is named for two American servicemen who posthumously received the Medal of Honor:...
ICV Vehicle), the Canadian Army and the Australian Army. As of 2005, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace had 1,421 employees.
Space related activities are conducted within KDA itself in addition to its subsidiaries, Kongsberg Spacetec (wholly owned) and Kongsberg Satellite Services (50% owned by KDA, 50% by the Norwegian Space Centre
Norwegian Space Centre
The Norwegian Space Centre is a Norwegian government agency that promotes space exploration.-Norsk Romsenter :...
), both located in Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
. Notable space related products from KDA are the Booster Attachment and Release Mechanisms for ESA
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
's Ariane 5
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
. In the early 1990s KDA was involved with NASA's JPL
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
and Germany's DASA in software development of the test/checkout system, as well as spacecraft hardware production, for the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens
Cassini-Huygens
Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI spacecraft mission studying the planet Saturn and its many natural satellites since 2004. Launched in 1997 after nearly two decades of gestation, it includes a Saturn orbiter and an atmospheric probe/lander for the moon Titan, although it has also returned...
space probe. KDA has also delivered the Solar Array Drive Mechanism for ESA's Rosetta space probe.
On 22 November 2008 Norwegian Minister of Defence
Minister of Defence (Norway)
The Norwegian Minister of Defence is a Councillor of the Council of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, the position has existed since the Secretary of the Army and Secretary of the Navy was combined into the Minister of Defence...
Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen
Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen
Anne-Grete Hjelle Strøm-Erichsen is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Hordaland in 2005....
opened a new KDA plant that will produce parts for the aircraft recently chosen as Norway's future fighter, the F-35 Lightning II
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
.
In October 2010, Kongsberg signed an agreement with Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...
on joint development of remote weapons systems.
Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal
In 1987, Tocibai Machine, a subsidiary of Toshiba, was accused of illegally selling CNC milling machineMilling machine
A milling machine is a machine tool used to machine solid materials. Milling machines are often classed in two basic forms, horizontal and vertical, which refers to the orientation of the main spindle. Both types range in size from small, bench-mounted devices to room-sized machines...
s used to produce very quiet submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
propellers to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in violation of the CoCom
CoCom
CoCom is an acronym for Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls. CoCom was established by Western bloc powers in the first five years after the end of World War II, during the Cold War, to put an arms embargo on COMECON countries.CoCom ceased to function on March 31, 1994, and the...
agreement, an international embargo
Embargo
An embargo is the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it. Embargoes are considered strong diplomatic measures imposed in an effort, by the imposing country, to elicit a given national-interest result from the country on which it is...
on certain countries to COMECON
Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949–1991, was an economic organisation under hegemony of Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of communist states elsewhere in the world...
countries. The Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal involved a subsidiary of Toshiba and the Norwegian company Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. The incident strained relations between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two senior executives, as well as the imposition of sanctions
Economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are domestic penalties applied by one country on another for a variety of reasons. Economic sanctions include, but are not limited to, tariffs, trade barriers, import duties, and import or export quotas...
on the company by both countries.
Products
- PROTECTOR M151Protector M151The M151 PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station is a remotely-controlled weapons station that can be mounted to vehicles and stationary platforms...
Remote Weapon Station - PenguinPenguin missileThe Penguin anti-ship missile , made by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace of Norway from the early 1970s and continually upgraded since, is a passive-IR seeker based short-to-medium range naval guided missile...
- Naval Strike MissileNaval Strike MissileThe Naval Strike Missile is an anti-ship and land-attack missile developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace , and whose initial serial production contract was signed in June 2007. It has been chosen by the Royal Norwegian Navy for its new Fridtjof Nansen class frigates and...
- NASAMSNASAMSNASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system. NASAMS was the first surface-based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the first surface-to-air missile system in the western world with active radar guidance...
External links
- Company website
- Kongsberg Spacetec website
- "KDA part of historic space project" – On KDA's involvement in the Cassini-Huygens mission (from KOG's news archive, 17 January 2005)