April 17, 2009

Wonderful to be here. Thank, you for giving me a space to speak. I come from the opposite part of the big landmass of EURASIA – a landmass so important for the US to control and dominate. I come from Scandinavia which consists of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Some writers include Finland and a couple of islands as well.

Norway, Denmark and Iceland are members of NATO. Finland and Sweden are NOT in NATO but in Partnership for Peace. The big arctic island Greenland was a colony of Denmark. Until today Greenland's foreign policy is under Danish (in fact US) rule.

Sweden is big in Space technology and industry and far ahead many other nations in international space activities. Sweden plays an important role in European Space Agency - ESA. ”The expanding of Space and aviation industry shall be one of the driving forces for Sweden's growth and position as a high technologic nation in cooperation with the US and the European Union" The Department of Industry stated 2005.

Biggest space corporations are : Ericsson, Saab Space, Space Corporation, Volvo Aero and Angstrom Laboratories -all present on the US market. Angstrom Laboratories are world-wide-known for its mini-satellites and Global Positioning Systems. SAAB Space an important supplier for Lockheed Martins rockets and satellite systems, equipping most of the worlds launch vehicles with satellite separation systems and leading manufacturer of computers on board satellites. SAAB Space is the dominant supplier for Galileo satellites.

ESRANGE rocket station

Esrange, some miles outside the City of Kiruna,in northernmost Sweden, is the most active ground station for satellites in the world. The Space Corporation controls or monitors 24 satellites from the satellite station in and around Esrange. That means 92 satellite passages every 24 hour. The images downloaded can be maps over Russia which are transmitted to the US.The Space Corporation is in alliance with US Corporation Universal Space Net - the Priora net. They cooperate with Taiwan and the US to develope advanced technich for real time surveillance. Esrange cooperates with Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Esrange is an active robotbase and only this month(March 2009) two rockets have been launched. 2009 will be a busy year for Esrange Space Center. At least 17 balloon launches and four rocket launches remain this year.

North European Aerospace Test Range - NEAT.

Located in the North of Sweden, NEAT, is the largest overland aerospace test range in Europe. At NEAT, tests of different aerospace vehicles have been performed since the mid-1950s. Missile tests can be conducted by using a restricted ground space of 1650 km2, different targets and drones, and a complete set of test instruments. UAV and UCAV are tested at NEAT. There has been a strong criticism that Israel has been allowed to test different types of armaments at NEAT.

NORWAY

Norway, bordering Russia, is one of the best equipped aircraft carriers for the US. SIGINT, SONAR, SOSUS - installations were taken away when the cold war was over, we were told. They were not. Instead, 2000, a big radar was installed in Vardo, a few miles outside the Russian border. It was for tracking space junk they said. The radar, originally installed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US, had been used in test programmes for National Missile Defence. It was dismantled and moved to Vardo.

The location of this radar is ideal for collecting very precise data on Russian missile tests. The Vardo radar can provide critical information for a national missile defence system aimed specifically at Russia, professor Postol says.

Not far from Bodo, in northern Norway, the US has a ground base for satellites - Fauske radar station. The Fauske station was modernised by National Security Agency (NSA) in 1999-2000. No one was told why and for what purpose. It is top-secret. But the coming June there will be a huge NATO air wing exercise in Northern Sweden NEAT. This exercise will be directed from Bodo in Norway..

Andoya Rocket Range is the worlds northernmost rocket launch facility. The nearest competitor include Sweden's Esrange and Alaska Poker Flat. For studying physical phenomena in the polar atmosphere, the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, Andoya is second to none. In August 2006, Andoya Rocket Range opened its laboratories and research facilities to young people in an European Space Camp.

2008, the Galileo station, in Antarctica was inaugurated. The station will monitor the quality of Galileo's signals. It will be the southernmost of 30 stations in the new navigation system.

Tromso in Northern Norway is the center for polar research. In Tromso there is a ultra secret research programme initiated by US Air Force & Navy to develop the new geophysical weapon named HAARP. It consists of extreme strong transmitters - ionospheric heaters to project microwaves in the ionosphere. This beam will heat parts of the ionosphere and lift it up. HAARP should be taken on in the Global Networks planning in my opinion.

In secrecy, Norway has contributed to the development of the most controversial weapon system in the world since launching of the Manhattan Project. A Norwegian oil-rig is used as a platform for the worlds most powerful radar. Today the radar oil-rig platform is deployed in Bering Sea.

And finally Denmark. Greenland (Denmark) The Thule Ballistic Missile Early Warning Radar System (Thule BMEWS) is located at the Thule Air Base in northwestern Greenland. This base was US ear and eyes during the cold war. The radar is today a key element of the U.S. defence strategy and an essential part of the U.S. missile defence architecture. The large BMWS radar network includes radars located in Fylingdales, UK and Clear, Alaska. The Inuit (aboriginal people) fought fiercely against the upgrading of the radar and Russia raised concerns, claiming that it threatened Russian security. I have mentioned just a fraction of the installations and space activities. But I hope this short overview has given you a background to the importance of keeping an eye on the Northern part of Europe.

Thank you.