Within the Norwegian Armed Forces, NIS is in charge of all space operations and development. The Norwegian Armed Forces and other Norwegian government agencies that are concerned in maritime security, like the Directorate of Fisheries, the Coastal Administration, and Norwegian Customs, will make use of the data. After the satellites are launched and operational in 2025, the contract will be in effect for five years. The value of the contract is kept secret.
Kongsberg NanoAvionics will manufacture the three satellites, while Kongsberg Discovery will supply the Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers and detector systems.
According to Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, “We are honoured to be able to provide this service to the Norwegian government in addition to potential clients and partners abroad. In the maritime domain awareness value chain, Kongsberg’s overall offering will be improved by the distribution of maritime satellite data. Kongsberg covers the full value chain to offer the next generation satellite services through a combination of in-house capabilities and subsidiaries, from delivering our own micro satellites and ground stations to market-leading data processing and analytics.”
Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensønes, Director of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, said, “These three satellites will greatly enhance the maritime surveillance capability in our areas of interest, improve situational awareness for various government institutions, and strengthen maritime security in the High North.”
Kongsberg intends to construct and manage a constellation of satellites, the first of which is called N3X. The constellation is designed to give consumers access to the best data sets possible. Outside of Norwegian Areas of Interest, the satellites’ excess capacity will be made available to consumers worldwide.
