Teknologien Forsvaret trenger

FFI was established in 1946 in recognition of the fact that technological development was and would be very important for the Armed Forces. FFI was to contribute to the modernisation of the Armed Forces, the industry and the scientific community in Norway. It’s still crucial for Norway and the Armed Forces to keep up with technological developments. Only by doing so can we develop a relevant national defence. That is, a defence force that can meet changing defence and security challenges, including forming a war-prevention threshold and securing its own personnel. By smart use of technology, the Armed Forces can solve the tasks more efficiently and with greater force, alone and together with allies and partners.

The lead that the United States and the West have had since the first Gulf War is now being equalised. Russia’s defence research budget doubled between 2012 and 2015. China’s investment in defence research is growing quickly and is now estimated to be more than twice as large as the corresponding total investment in Europe. If the trend continues, China will likely surpass the United States in military research spending before 2025. However, the United States wishes to maintain military superiority for as long as possible and launched several strategic measures in 2014 to achieve this. Europe’s total investment in defence research, on the other hand, has been reduced by 29 per cent in recent years and sits at about one-sixth of the US research and development budget of about NOK 600 billion (approximately 57 trillion USD) – or half of Norway's annual national budget. If this development doesn’t change – quickly – Europe faces a choice between becoming a mere customer of the US defence industry or being out of business as a partner. Much of the basic technological development is still funded by military means, especially in the United States, Russia and China, but the applications are in many areas driven by civilian needs and by investments in research and development in civilian companies. One consequence is that a lot of advanced technology is affordable and easily accessible to everyone. This also contributes to reducing the West’s lead.

This edition of VITEN addresses specific technology areas and technologies that will provide the Armed Forces with great opportunities today and in the years to come. Technological development will continue to challenge the defence sector, and could, in the long run, lead to major changes in structure, organisation and operational concepts required to maintain a sustainable defence. We must take advantage of the opportunities offered by technology to be relevant to our close allies, and we must prepare for the fact that our opponents, symmetrical as well as asymmetrical, will adopt the same technology.