“The aim of the Ranger Company is to delay a potential attack until Norway gets assistance from allied forces…You will think twice before crossing the border when you know there are such(anti-tank) weapons in place.”
— Norwegian Parliament member Frank Bakke-Jensen, 2016.
The Garrison of Sør-Varanger (GSV), at Kirkenes Airport in far, northern Norway, only six and a half miles by air from the nearby, Russian border, is an army base originally manned by 600 border guards, tasked with long-range, reconnaissance patrols along the remote, 122-mile border. They operate in four-man patrol teams, from two border stations, and the main border checkpoint at Storskog.
But in June 2016, the vital base, 190 miles north of the Arctic Circle, was permanently augmented with a special operations, Ranger unit, and was redesignated as Ranger Battalion GSV, with three groups of soldiers from the former Jegerkompaniet (Arctic Ranger Company.) The battalion symbol is Vargen, which translates as “The Wolf.”
The unit’s assigned roles include unconventional warfare, guerrilla tactics, and long-range reconnaissance deep behind enemy lines, with no support from other units, in all weather conditions and in all terrain, for periods of up to 30 days. In addition, they are tasked with anti-tank warfare, close-quarters battle, Arctic warfare, border control, force protection, intelligence gathering, maneuver warfare, medical evacuation, patrolling, raids, reconnaissance, search-and-rescue, and other important duties.
Their training is similar to training at other Ranger units, except that much more time is spent on winter operations. The Ranger Battalion adds 45 veteran Rangers and 150 young, Ranger conscripts to the existing, border guard garrison.
According to The Barents Observer on January 30, 2025, “Over the next decade, almost 160 billion kroner ($15.8 billion) will be invested in the country’s army. A major share of it will be spent in the northern parts of the country, and a key priority is the establishment of a new Finnmark Brigade. The local, Sør-Varanger Garrison will be at the core of the new brigade. The number of servicemen will be significantly increased, and new arms and equipment acquired.”
So, the strategically-located, Ranger Battalion GSV will be growing in leaps and bounds over the next 10 years. This is mostly due to the Russian threat, resulting from the ongoing war in Ukraine, and NATO’s recent pledge to increase defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), up from only two percent last year.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre very recently stated that, “Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security, and we will do our part…We are in the most serious security policy situation since World War II…we must rapidly strengthen our defense capabilities…We have to deal with a more dangerous neighbor in many years to come.”
Ominously positioned a mere 34 miles toward the southeast are the Russian Northern Fleet’s 20th Motorized Rifle Brigade at Pechenga, equipped with 41 T-80BVM main battle tanks, hundreds of other tactical vehicles, and SA-8, -13, -15, and -19 surface-to-air missiles, and the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade at Sputnik, using BTR-80 armored personnel carriers and 2S23 Nona-SVK self-propelled mortar vehicles, with 120mm guns. Both units have been deployed in Ukraine, where they suffered significant losses of up to 80 percent of their combat capabilities in early 2023.
Likewise, only 33 miles away is the all-new, Rezonans-NE anti-stealth radar, with a detection range of 218 miles against fighter-sized aircraft, near Zapolyarny and Luostari, used to track Norway’s F-35A Lighting II stealth fighters, which are often forward-deployed to Evenes Air Station, in northwestern Norway.
In 2019, a battery of SSC-6 Sennight (Russian Kh-35 Bal) anti-ship, cruise missiles was stationed on the Sredny Peninsula, 45 miles east of the GSV, for the express purpose of neutralizing Norway’s advanced, FPS-129 Globus-2 and Globus-3 radars on Vardø Island, 54 miles northeast of the GSV. This vitally important radar site, originally designed to collect intelligence data against Russian ballistic missiles, has been operated since 1988 by the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS), with direct assistance from the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).
Furthermore, the Russian Northern Fleet, headquartered at Severomorsk, consists of 32 warships, 33 submarines, and a host of other vessels, supported by four major air bases, including MiG-29K, MiG-31K, Su-27P, Su-24M, Su-33, and Su-34M fighters, Tu-22M3 Backfire bombers, Ka-27M, -29TB, and -31 Helix naval helicopters, and various transport and reconnaissance aircraft. These are all safeguarded by long-range, SA-20B Gargoyle and SA-21B Growler surface-to-air missiles, and the 420th Naval SpetsNaz Brigade of commandos (equivalent to U.S. Navy SEALs) at Zverosovkhoz.
Fortunately for Norway, the only viable attack route by land in case of a Russian invasion is along Route E105, through the Storskog crossing chokepoint. From there, it’s just over three miles to the two bridges at Elvenes, Norway, which, if destroyed by Norwegian Rangers, would effectively halt the advance of any Russian land forces.
The nearest Royal Norwegian Air Force aircraft are one or two unarmed, AW101 Merlin search-and-rescue helicopters from a small detachment at Banak, 120 miles to the west, so the Ranger Battalion GSV has essentially no direct air support. Although to augment the Rangers, a group of Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) arrived in 2020, experts at directing airstrikes by Norwegian and other NATO aircraft, if required, for which they must all be proficient in English.
The nearest, Norwegian Army support comes from the Garrison of Porsanger, at least 200 miles away (about five hours at top speed) by road, home of the HQ of Finnmark Land Command, and the Porsanger Battalion (since 2020), including the 1st and 2nd Armored Reconnaissance Squadrons, equipped with 21 tracked, Combat Vehicle CV9030N Mk. IIIbs, with high-velocity, Mk.44 Bushmaster II 30x173mm cannon.
There were reports a few years ago that the GSV would soon be protected by the NASAMS-3 (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System), with radar-guided, AIM-120 AMRAAM-ER missiles having an effective range of 37 miles, as well as possible NOMADS (National Maneuver Air Defence System) weapons, firing IRIS-T heat-seeking missiles. Norway is being very secretive about these missile deployments, however, which remain unconfirmed, but highly probable, especially in view of the ongoing, Sør-Varanger Garrison expansion. The Barents Observer stated on April 5, 2024, that, “Priority in the (next) years will be to add a new, anti-air defense unit and…an intelligence company.”
The elite Rangers at GSV have definitely received, by 2024, Polish-manufactured, shoulder-fired, Piorun (“Thunderbolt”) antiaircraft missiles, with a range of four miles, already used successfully in recent combat by Ukrainian forces.
The Ranger Battalion wears the standard, M98 woodland camouflage uniform, snow camouflage in winter, and have recently received the new, M23 Nordic Combat Uniform (NCU) and M23 snow uniform. The Ops-Core FAST helmet is used, or the new M24 Canadian helmet, and they wear an umbra-green beret in garrison, or on patrol.
They drive a wide variety of Polaris ATVs, Lynx Yeti Pro V-800 or Lynx Commander 800R E-Tec Army snowmobiles, Yamaha 450WR motorcycles, river patrol boats, and possibly some Mercedes Benz G290 military jeeps, and may employ PD-100 Black Hornet Nano miniature helicopter drones for short-range, aerial reconnaissance.
With a primary, wartime mission of guerilla warfare to stop Russian tanks from invading Norway, the Rangers have the tactical advantage of terrain barriers, such as rivers, lakes, wetlands, swamps, and harsh, rocky outcroppings, so that any Russian advance must be, of necessity, restricted to the main road.
In addition, the Russian T-80BVM tanks are gasoline-turbine powered, unlike the diesel-powered T-72s of most other tank units, because diesel vehicles do not operate well in the extremely cold climates of far, northern Russia or Norway. And bitter combat experience in Chechnya and Ukraine over several decades has proven that T-80s burn more swiftly and violently than diesel-powered tanks when hit by enemy munitions.
The “19FortyFive” website reported on May 5, 2025, that “Russia Has Lost 1,000 or More T-80 Tanks in Ukraine…Ukraine has destroyed perhaps as many as 8,000 Russian tanks (at least 4,000) since the war started. One Russian model that has struggled mightily is the T-80 main battle tank. An estimated 1,000 T-80s have been taken out by the Ukrainians, who often use first-person view (FPV) drones that dive at the vulnerable, T-80 turret…Russian crews have nicknamed the tank the ‘steel coffin.’” In fact, at least 1,035 T-80s have been lost in battle recently, including 154 of the very latest, T-80BVM variant, with reactive armor, and the ability to fire depleted-uranium projectiles.
Accordingly, the Ranger Battalion GSV is equipped with Carl Gustav M3/M4 84mm anti-tank weapons, NM72F1 LAW rocket-propelled grenades, and FGM-148F Javelin guided missiles to halt any tank columns, supported by M19 and M100 Claymore mines for stopping enemy personnel and light vehicles.
Their standard handgun is the Glock-17 Gen. 4 (P80) or H&K USP9 in 9x19mm, and the standard assault carbine is either the HK416N, K, or S, or Colt Canada C8 SFW or CQB in 5.56mm NATO, with the FN Minimi Para as the standard light machine gun, also in 5.56mm NATO. The FN Minimi Mk. 3 in 7.62mm NATO is also available.
The primary submachine gun is the H&K MP7A1 in 4.6x30mm, and the favored, designated marksman rifle (DMR) is the HK417A2 in 7.62mm NATO. Sniper rifles include the HK417D20RS in 7.62mm, Barrett Mk. 22 MRAD in .338 Lapua Magnum, Barrett M82A1 in .50 BMG, and brand-new Barrett M107A1s, just being delivered this year.
It’s not an enviable task for a mere 45 professional, Norwegian Rangers and 150 young conscripts to have to hold back the combined might of two full, Russian brigades with heavily-armored vehicles, but the Ranger Battalion GSV readily accepts this daunting responsibility, fully aware that they are extremely isolated, and may be on their own for up to 30 days, until Norwegian and other NATO reinforcements can arrive.
The Sør-Varanger Garrison is also receiving an influx of manpower, cash, and equipment over the next decade, and the Rangers are supremely confident that their hit-and-run tactics will succeed in halting, or at least delaying, any potential, Russian invasion of their homeland.
Meanwhile, the small, local city of Kirkenes (population 3,500) has become known as “Spy Town,” according to the Wall Street Journal on July 11, 2025, infested with undercover, Russian agents, and closely monitored by the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), equivalent to the British MI5 agency or the American FBI, so the Russian espionage and surveillance threat is very real.
An additional, current trigger point between Norway and Russia is the Norwegian Svalbard (previously Spitzbergen) archipelago, situated over 400 miles north of the northern coastline of Norway. It’s officially a demilitarized zone by a 1920 treaty, often patrolled by the Norwegian Coast Guard, which has been modernizing its fleet since 2023. The Russian government has recently, wrongly accused Norway of militarizing Svalbard, as a threat of NATO expansion. The Svalbard archipelago certainly holds a commanding, military potential in terms of dealing with Russia in the Arctic Region.
Recently, constant Russian provocations and harassment there include damaging an undersea communications cable between Norway and Svalbard, and GPS jamming, or “spoofing,” in northern Norway to disrupt local navigation, an insidious form of hybrid warfare. Prime Minister Støre has bluntly stated that, “Svalbard is just as much part of Norway as other parts of Norway, and we are responsible for security there.”
The Roman poet Virgil wrote in his Latin epic poem, The Aeneid (29 to 19 B.C.), that, “They can, because they think they can,” so one should never underestimate the value of instilled confidence among combat troops. The Rangers’ motto is Alltid klar (“Always ready”), and despite being heavily outnumbered, they rely upon speed, surprise, training, mobility, and detailed knowledge of their own terrain to offset any tactical challenges. They are quite literally the tip of the spear in Norway’s defense against any Russian aggression.