Jonas Linde is a senior flight test engineer director of marketing and sales at Sweden’s FMV test range.
He is also the project manager for FMV’s Battle Week, a new initiative that aims to encourage innovation in aerospace and defense technology development by offering the opportunity to test and demonstrate at its range.
In this Q&A he describes FMV’s facilities, the thinking behind Battle week and how interested companies can get involved.
Can you give us an overview of FMV T&E and the test ranges you operate?
FMV Test & Evaluation (T&E) is responsible for the testing and evaluation of all technical systems for the Swedish Armed Forces. We also provide T&E services to both foreign and Swedish customers, including governmental agencies, Armed Forces and defense and security industries.
FMV T&E is made up of around 350 T&E specialists in the air, land and naval domains. Testing is performed at our world-class test ranges located all over Sweden. Our Head Office is located in Stockholm.
At FMV T&E, we possess a range of resources and proficiencies for the T&E of components, equipment, systems and platforms. Comprehensive testing is carried out with both fixed and mobile test instrumentation under the most realistic conditions possible. We perform testing and evaluation of: Land systems and platforms; Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) systems; Weapon systems, ammunition and artillery; Command and control and communication systems; Sensor and electronic systems and Naval systems.
We have all the space we need to go that extra mile for a flawless testing experience – across every domain, every time. And as a governmental agency you can trust FMV T&E’s services (and the results and reports we deliver) will be fully independent and objective.
Our collaboration with the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF), provides additional access to military resources, personnel and additional ranges if needed.
Our main test ranges are Vidsel Test Range, Europe’s largest overland test range. With about 8,000 km2 of restricted air space and 3,300 km2 of restricted ground space Vidsel is ideal for advanced T&E and training and exercise with advanced airborne platforms and long-range weapon and advance drone systems and electronic warfare.
Our Naval range Härnösand is a great place for live firing with airborne anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and depth charges as well as ship-based weapon systems. The Älvdalen Firing & Exercise Range, 540 km2, is a great range for helicopter T&E and training and exercise as well as drones and electronic warfare.
What sets your facilities apart from other test ranges?
Besides the very harsh winter climate, I would say it is the extreme remoteness and our sheer size that enables both live firing and live electronic warfare such as navigation and communications jamming.
At Vidsel we can fire both Meteor and AMRAAM beyond visual range missiles as well as long-range GBAD systems. We can also set up challenging scenarios including advanced airborne drone targets and high-speed remotely controlled ground targets, or we can build bridges, villages and bunkers as requested. Älvdalen is also great for joint operations with helicopters and ground troops.
What is Battle week and what prompted FMV to launch it?
Battle Week is a strategic initiative from FMV and our partners the SwAF, the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) and the Swedish Defence University (FHS) to significantly reduce the lead time from the identification of a military problem or capability gap to the deployment of an innovative solution with Swedish armed forces operational units or in Ukraine.
The ultimate goal is 52 weeks from publication of a military problem to delivery to frontline units.
To achieve this, we present a real military problem developed by the SwAF to the market, to which industry responds with innovative solution proposals. Following a transparent and independent evaluation process companies are offered the opportunity, for a fee, to test and demonstrate their solutions at one of our test and evaluation sites.
The Battle Week has two main phases: a Test and Evaluation week where solutions are tested in a realistic environment against relevant threats, and then a demonstration phase where the companies’ solutions are demonstrated for invited observers from Sweden, NATO, EU and our partner nations around the world.
This includes procurement authorities and armed forces end-users and both senior officials and subject-matter experts. Following the completion of a Battle Week, the FMV or any of the invited nations may decide to initiate a procurement process in the relevant area, independent of the Battle Week itself.
The ambition is for Battle Week to be conducted four times per year, with the objective of enabling delivery to operational units within 52 weeks of the publication of the military problem.
The call for Battle Week 01 is available now on the FMV and T&E websites. Battle Week 01 will take place during weeks 38–39 this year. The application deadline is 29 April.
The call for Battle Week 01 focuses on the protection of ground-based static infrastructure, such as radar systems, across the full spectrum of conflict — from peacetime and grey-zone situations to war.
This includes strengthening the protection of:
- Sensor stations and other critical infrastructure
- Power supply, communications, access routes, and service facilities
- Systems and networks against IT and cyberattacks, electronic warfare, and physical attacks
Solutions may be new and untested or already exist in some form and may require adaptation to a military context. Most solutions contribute by strengthening part of a larger system rather than solving the entire challenge.
Ground based radar systems, or any area or installation that needs to be protected, face several different threats. Examples of threats includes, but are not limited to, indirect fire, direct fire, small arms fire, sabotage units, drones in all dimensions, electronic warfare and cyber threats and so on.
For this iteration we have excluded the highest and most advanced threats such as incoming stand off – and hypersonic missiles, nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Battle Week is open to companies internationally as well as in Sweden.
What kind of companies and technologies are you hoping Battle Week will attract?
What we are really looking for is the “unknown, unknowns”, meaning all the innovative solutions that we and our subject matter experts have NOT thought about.
We know there is a lot of innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises, both within and maybe even more so outside the defense sector.
Companies that participate in Battle Week get access to our test ranges – which are usually extremely hard to get into. Secondly, they get access at a significantly reduced cost.
Third, they get to test in a realistic environment against relevant threats and fourth they get the opportunity to showcase their innovative solutions to invited observers from Sweden, NATO, EU and our partner nations around the world. This includes procurement authorities and armed forces end-users and both senior officials and subject-matter experts.
I would say very few companies could achieve all this by their own.
How has Sweden’s NATO membership affected the work you do and the international demand for your ranges?
I would not say that NATO has had any major impact, at least not yet. Instead, I would say that the geopolitical situation with the Ukraine war and other major conflicts drive the need for frontline units to be combat ready, while vastly increased defense budgets drive the need for test and evaluation of new and modified equipment and systems.
Today our services are in extremely high demand from our main customers, Sweden and Ukraine. All other request is prioritized and we do cherry pick the, from our perspective, best and most interesting projects.
This is also a driving factor for the Battle Week, by co-locating companies in place and time we can offer access to more companies and in the end deliver new solutions faster.
How can organizations interested in using your test facilities or participating in future Battle Week events get involved?
It’s pretty straight forward! Just go to https://testandevaluation.fmv.se/battleweek/ in your browser and follow the instructions. If you have any questions, please send an mail to t&ebusiness.fmv@fmv.se
