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ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE:Emerging Partnership of Ukraine & Norway, Building a Bulwark Part 2 [1]

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Date: 2025-04-27

It is perhaps the biggest news today from the Russo-Ukrainian battle front … Ukraine using the Norwegian-made NASAMS Air Defense System to shoot down 11 Russian cruise missiles in less than two minutes during a massive overnight aerial attack:

Probably broke all records' — NASAMS downs 11 Russian cruise missiles in less than 2 minutes, Ukraine's Air Force claims Ukrainian forces operating NASAMS air defense systems downed 11 Russian cruise missiles in less than two minutes during a mass aerial attack, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Kyrylo Peretyatko said in a video published on April 27. "We probably broke all records of other countries for reload speed, and we are ready to keep doing it constantly to defend our country, as long as we have the missiles," he said. "In one air defense battle, we shot down 11 cruise missiles. The operation lasted no more than two minutes," Peretyatko said. He did not specify which Russian mass missile attack he was referring to. kyivindependent.com/...

My apologies if this has already been mentioned here on Kos but this news underscores the contents of a dairy I posted here on March 05, 2025 regarding the increasingly vital partnership of Norway and Ukraine not only in the current conflict instigated by Russia but also the potential for this partnership to become the bulwark of the emerging European Security Architecture. Principally I posited the following:

Norway has its own history of not being ready when a powerful aggressor(Hitler) pounced, ushering in the baleful Nazi imposed government of Vidkun Quisling. Yeah, that Quisling. Norway is also acutely aware of its own present vulnerability to Russia … a nearly 200 mile common northern border and a long open coast line vulnerable to naval and amphibious attacks. The epic of the WWII Nazi Germany battleships Scharnhorst, Tirpitz and the Gneisenau are still quite vivid in collective Norwegian memory. But the relatively undermanned Scandinavian country(population of 5.5 million, 33,000 active, 60,000 reserve under arms) has a few things going for it: Some of the most advanced missile/munitions technologies in the world. Norway’s Joint partnership with Raytheon produces the NASAMS Air Defense System which currently protects Donald John Trump and the White House. America’s advanced stealth F-35 Fighter jets carry the Kongsberg-made Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for anti-ship and land-attack. And the Joint Strike Missile(JSM) for the USAF and Japan F-35. And the new armor-piercing ammunition (APEX) for the F-35. The world’s most advanced nano-drone The BLACK HORNET is the smallest most advanced and capable nano-UAV available. It is made in Norway. Ukraine already has these in use on the battlefield. Perhaps the most important factor for Ukraine is Norway’s Money from its huge oil wealth. Norway's Government Pension Fund Global(Sovereign Fund) is the largest in the world at $1.8 trillion. Bigger than China’s. That’s a lot of cash. And now Norway is beginning the process of opening this vast vault to help Ukraine: www.dailykos.com/...

Not only is today’s news from Ukraine great, it would appear that in spite of their recent deadly aerial bludgeoning of Kyiv, the Russians are reportedly very frustrated with the NASAMS in Ukraine. One shudders to think that the recent aerial carnage on Kyiv would have been even worse had it not being for the NASAMS. It is now known that had Ukraine not had the NASAMS, Russia would have by now pulverized a significant part of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure :

Why Ukrainian NASAMS Are Driving Russia Nuts In a masterclass in modern air defense, Norway’s NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) has been turning Russian missiles into expensive fireworks over Ukraine. With an astounding 94% kill rate, the Norwegian-American system has swatted down nearly 900 Russian aerial threats, effectively making the Kremlin’s missile budget a donation to Ukraine’s defense. Norwegian Air Force Colonel Per Steinar Trøite confirmed the system’s efficiency in an interview with Aftenposten, stating that NASAMS has been a champ in shielding Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.(emphasis mine) Since November 2022, about 60% of intercepted threats have been Russian cruise missiles, including the Kh-101, Kh-555, Kalibr, Iskander-K, Kh-59, and Kh-69 — because apparently, Russia believes variety is the spice of life. Russia has been forced to shift tactics, relying more on drones and long-range missiles since its aircraft can no longer operate freely over Ukrainian airspace. wesodonnell.medium.com/...

So why doesn’t Norway send as many NASAMS as could be spared or even produced? Were it just up to Norway alone I am sure that would be the case. But it is a complicated matter revolving around our own good old US of A. The joint partnership in the production of the missiles used in the NASAMS by Norway’s Kongsberg and U.S.’s RTX(formerly Raytheon) poses a potential problem … the United States export rules under the AECA Export regulations, specifically the State Department administered ITAR. The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is a set of US Government regulations that control the import and export of defense products. If a defense article includes U.S. made components, the U.S. government has a say in its end use. It even gives the U.S. the power of extra-territoriality in enforcing such end use. Sanctions anyone?

So what to do? I mentioned in my March 5 dairy that Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi had announced that Ukraine was developing its own air defense system akin to the U.S. made “Patriot”. It was not clear at the time that what the good general was talking about was indeed a joint partnership between Ukraine and Norway to produce new missiles for the NASAMS which is Norwegian … in order to get around the potential of the Krasnovian U.S. Administration stopping supply of missiles for the NASAMS to Ukraine … just as they have done with the Patriot. .. if they haven’t already. The news of this partnership broke earlier this month:

BREAKING: Norway, Ukraine in Talks to Co-Produce New Air Defense Missile KONGSBERG, Norway — The governments in Kyiv and Oslo are having “ongoing discussions” that may lead to Ukraine domestically producing a new missile for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, according to officials at Norway’s largest defense manufacturer. NASAMS is a short to medium-range mobile air defense system, which has been widely used by Ukraine in its war against Russia. The system — co-produced by Norway’s Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace and the United States’ RTX, formerly known as Raytheon[now RTX] — has six tubes that can currently accommodate three different types of missiles. Kongsberg officials during a March 28 visit to the company headquarters in Kongsberg, Norway, told reporters that Ukraine is interested in a less exquisite missile that can be mass-produced quickly in large quantities. “High-volume production is the target” for this missile, Kongsberg spokesman Ivar Simensen said. Discussions have been ongoing since last year, he added. The latest version of NASAMS can currently fire three different missiles, all developed by RTX: the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, an AMRAAM-Extended Range version and the AIM-9X Sidewinder, originally designed as an air-to-air missile but adapted for the ground-based system. www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/...

For sure whatever missiles come of this partnership will in all likelihood be scrupulously and in totality all Norwegian-Ukrainian made components. And one hopes that in the process the malevolent Putin regime’s main instrument of terror against Ukraine … the daily aerial ballistic missile bombardment of civilians in Ukraine will come to an end.

ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE… with the quiet-spoken but emerging economic power, Norway, tapping its huge national sovereign wealth and joining with Ukraine’s burgeoning weapons technologies, a new bulwark is about to emerge on the European scene.

SLAVA UKRAINI! PEREMOHA(Victory)!

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