Company insight
odern military operations would be impossible without thorough full test and evaluation (T&E). Ensuring that systems and platforms function as intended – both in straightforward technical terms and in supporting favourable operational outcomes is critical – no wonder the global market for military T&E including simulation, live T&E and training and exercises is worth over $12bn. But to truly ensure investments in new equipment, systems and platforms provides increased operational capabilities for frontline units operating under harsh, real-world conditions, militaries need both expertise and very large areas of unpopulated ground, sea and airspace to make their testing regimens as realistic as possible. For that to happen, many rely on internal or external T&E organisations, with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration Test & Evaluation Division (FMV T&E) proving just how successful these associations can be.
Test for success M
Military systems and platforms need thorough testing before they can be deployed – both to understand the systems themselves, and to appreciate how they can be deployed in the field. We speak with Jonas Linde, director of marketing and sales at FMV T&E, to learn more.
Requirements for the future Jonas Linde is at the centre of these developments. The marketing and sales director at FMV Test and Evaluation (FMV T&E), his organisation helps test equipment for the Swedish Armed Forces. But even if the lion’s share of the organisation’s work relates to the needs of the Swedish Armed Forces, FMV T&E also boasts a range of similar relationships across Nato countries and other friendly nations. This enthusiasm isn’t hard to appreciate. As Linde emphasises, rigorous testing of systems and platforms, spanning everything from missiles to torpedoes and electronic warfare, is vital to ensure that “the taxpayers actually get what they paid for.” Even more fundamentally, it’s crucial to catch problems before deployment to the battlefield – and understand how new and
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upgraded equipment fills what Linde calls the “capability gap” in any given situation. Yet if these concerns are reflected in the numbers – the Pentagon alone spends billions on T&E each year – it’s also clear that ideal testing conditions don’t just appear. Rather, they require expertise, cooperation between different military branches, and ample space to conduct test, training and exercise at scale. On all these points, FMV T&E is well- placed to offer support. Boasting several test ranges in remote parts of Sweden, including a mammoth 3,300km² site at Vidsel, the organisation can host almost any operation with ease. A case in point is COLDDIVEX, a winter diving week facilitated by FMV T&E Naval Test Ranges branch in collaboration with the Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centre (FM DNC). Involving experts from a range of Nato countries – as well as representatives from defence companies – the most recent event allowed divers to test out everything from breathing valves to electrified heating pads. In the future, the intention is for COLDDIVEX to be a biannual event Importantly, the remoteness of FMV
T&E’s ranges ensures that systems and platforms can be tested under genuine sub-Arctic conditions, rather than in a favourable, sunny and nicely warmed temperature environment.
In a similar vein, the sheer size of FMV T&E sites allow for sophisticated testing involving different military branches, with Linde describing the “complex scenarios” that the FMV T&E team can arrange. By way of example, he highlights a recent collaboration with the German Navy. Encompassing two frigates and a corvette, the German fleet performed live firing with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles and naval artillery, while also putting an anti-submarine warfare helicopter through its paces. Together with similar projects involving land and
air forces, it's clear that FMV T&E is comfortable across domains, even as similar scenarios would be impossible in crowded waterways like the
Mediterranean or over mainland Europe. Not that these restricted spaces are merely empty wastelands. On the contrary, they contain all the infrastructure needed to fully measure a system’s efficacy – from the unit level right up to joint and combined operations. At the Vidsel test range, for instance, testers can rely on high-speed cameras, optical- and radar tracking systems, telemetry and flight termination systems, and remotely controlled ground-based and airborne drones. In a similar manner, Linde and his colleagues are increasingly testing other technically intensive systems and platforms: especially around electronic warfare. “I would say that demand has increased sharply,” he says, adding that Russia’s 2014’s annexation of Crimea, which relied heavily on electronic warfare and cyber wizardry, focused minds across Nato defence ministries.
Given this, it makes sense that FMV T&E has invested in technologies like GPS and communications jamming, allowing operators to test whether they impact the navigation systems of guided missiles or aircraft.
At the same time, the FMV team are equally conscious that testing can never become static. Leveraging deep connections with military officials in Sweden and elsewhere, he says that “requirements for the future” are a central pillar of his work, with electronic warfare and long-range weapon systems being just two areas of focus. All the while, the need for robust testing partners like FMV T&E only continues to grow. ●
www.fmv.se Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com
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