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Bolafjall Radar Station
Bolafjall Radar Station (NATO ID: H-4) is an Icelandic General Surveillance Radar station and part of the Iceland Air Defence System. It is located atop on Bolafjall near the town of Bolungarvik. It is operated by the Icelandic Coast Guard under the joint direction of NATO as part of the Icelandic Air Policing. History The station was established as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) radar station in January 1992, with its construction cost paid by the NATO Infrastructure Fund. While the United States Air Force paid for its operational expenses, it was operated by the Radar Agency (Icelandic: ''Ratsjárstofnun'') with civilian staff. The mission of the station was to intercept and shadow all Soviet aircraft in transit in and from the GIUK gap which passed through the detection range of its radars and relay to the NAS Keflavik Radar Operations Control Center (ROCC). In 2006, the United States withdrew its military units from Iceland, leaving the radar station fully in I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is '' animus in consulendo liber'' (Latin for "a mind unfettered in deliberation"). NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iceland Air Defence System
The Iceland Air Defence System ( is, Íslenska Loftvarnarkerfið) is a part of the Icelandic Coast Guard. It was founded in 1987 under the Radar Agency of the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs after an agreement between Iceland and the United States on the takeover by the Icelanders of the operation and maintenance of the radar stations of the Iceland Defense Force. Between 2009–2011, it was a part of the Icelandic Defence Agency (''Varnarmálastofnun Íslands''). It operates four radar complexes, a software and support facility as well as a command and report centre. , it does not independently possess any offensive capabilities, but is primarily used instead to monitor air traffic and direct allied interceptors based out of country. The four facilities are located at the four intercardinal points: * H-1 Miðnesheiði in the Reykjanes peninsula (south-west) * H-2 Gunnólfsvíkurfjall in the Langanes peninsula (nord-east) * H-3 Stokksnes near Höfn (south-east) * H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolafjall
Bolafjall is a 638 meter high mountainin the vicinity of Bolungarvík. A road was built to the top in 1986. In 2002 it was opened to civilian traffic. In 2022, an observation deck with a view over the Ísafjarðardjúp was opened on the mountain. Radar station Bolafjall is home to one of the four radar sites of the Iceland Air Defence System. It was previously run by the Icelandic Radar Instituteon on behalf of the Icelandic Defence Force and NATO but is run by the Icelandic Coast Guard The Icelandic Coast Guard (, or simply ) is the Icelandic defence service responsible for search and rescue, maritime safety and security surveillance, and law enforcement in the seas surrounding Iceland. The Coast Guard maintains the Iceland ... today. The radar station at Bolafjall began operation on January 18, 1992, but its operation is now under the care of the Coast Guard. There is a steep road up to Bolafjall. The road has been open to cars in July and August. On top of Bolafjall is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelandic Coast Guard
The Icelandic Coast Guard (, or simply ) is the Icelandic defence service responsible for search and rescue, maritime safety and security surveillance, and law enforcement in the seas surrounding Iceland. The Coast Guard maintains the Iceland Air Defence System which conducts ground-based surveillance of Iceland's air space and operate Keflavik airbase. It is also responsible for hydrographic surveying and nautical charting. History Its origins can be traced to 1859, when the corvette ''Ørnen'' started patrolling Icelandic waters. In 1906, Iceland's first purposely built guard-ship, ''Islands Falk'', began operation. Iceland's own defense of its territorial waters began around 1920 and the Icelandic Coast Guard was formally founded on 1 July 1926. The first cannon was put on the trawler ''Þór'' in 1924 and on 23 June 1926 the first ship built for the Coast Guard, named '' Óðinn'', arrived in Iceland. Three years later, on 14 July 1929 the coastal defence ship ''Ægir'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelandic Air Policing
Icelandic Air Policing is a NATO operation conducted to patrol Iceland's airspace. As Iceland does not have an air force, in 2006 it requested that its NATO allies periodically deploy fighter aircraft to Keflavik Air Base to provide protection of its airspace. The first deployment of aircraft took place in May 2008. Background As Iceland does not maintain an air force, the country was left without means to patrol its airspace when the United States Air Force (USAF) ceased deploying fighter units to Keflavik Air Base in September 2006, and the U.S. Iceland Defense Force was withdrawn. Following the American withdrawal Russian Air Force 37th Air Army aircraft entered Icelandic airspace on several occasions. Prime Minister Geir Haarde requested that Iceland's NATO allies assume responsibility for protecting Iceland's airspace during the Riga Summit in November 2006. The North Atlantic Council agreed to this request at its July 2007 meeting. The other NATO member states who lack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is '' animus in consulendo liber'' (Latin for "a mind unfettered in deliberation"). NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control. The United States Air Force is a military service branch organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force through the Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Radar Agency
The Radar Agency (Icelandic: ''Ratsjárstofnun'') was an Icelandic government agency that was under the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. It was founded in 1987 after the government of Iceland and the United States had entered into an agreement on the takeover by the Icelanders of the operation and maintenance of the radar stations of the Iceland Defense Force. It was dissolved in 2008 with its mission moved to the newly founded Icelandic Defence Agency (Icelandic: ''Varnarmálastofnun''). References {{reflist External linksOfficial site(archived) Government agencies disestablished in 2008 Government agencies established in 1987 Government agencies of Iceland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GIUK Gap
The GIUK gap (sometimes written G-I-UK) is an area in the northern Atlantic Ocean that forms a naval choke point. Its name is an acronym for ''Greenland, Iceland'', and the ''United Kingdom'', the gap being the two stretches of open ocean between these three landmasses. It separates the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea from the open Atlantic Ocean. The term is typically used in relation to military topics. The area has been considered strategically important since the beginning of the 20th century. Importance to the Royal Navy The GIUK gap is particularly important to the Royal Navy, as any attempt by northern European forces to break into the open Atlantic would have to be made either through the heavily defended English Channel, one of the world's busiest seaways, or through one of the exits on either side of Iceland. As the British also control the strategic port of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean, this means Spain, France, and Portugal are the only Continental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NAS Keflavik
Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) was a United States Navy station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006, and its facilities were taken over by the Icelandic Defence Agency as their primary base until 1 January 2011, when the Agency was abolished and the base handed over to the Icelandic Coast Guard, which has since then operated the base. The base was built during World War II by the United States Army as part of its mission to maintain the defense of Iceland and secure northern Atlantic air routes. It served to ferry personnel, equipment, and supplies to Europe. Intended as a temporary wartime base under an agreement with Iceland and the British, U.S. forces withdrew by 1947 but returned in 1951 as the Iceland Defense Force resident on a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base. The base was regularly visited by the American military and other NATO al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
