Kystjegerkommandoen

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Coastal Rangers.

Kystjegerkommandoen (Coastal Ranger Command) is a Norwegian amphibious unit trained to operate in littoral combat theatres, filling the role of a marine corps and coastal artillery.

The unit was created when it became clear that the coastal fortresses had to be abandoned due to their vulnerability to modern precision guided weapons. This was a gradual development, as the old coastal artillery branch of the Norwegian Defence Forces had been increasingly focusing on mobile operations, and less on coastal fortresses, for many years. With the establishment of the Ranger Command, this transition was complete.

The Coastal Rangers are trained to be highly mobile in the littoral environment, using the Combat Boat 90 and occasionally helicopters. The CB90 is capable of landing troops directly on the shore. Max payload is 16 armed troops, and max speed is 40kn. Their main weapon against enemy vessels is the AGM-114 Hellfire missile, using a blast-fragmentation warhead. This can easily be carried in the Combatboat 90, but will (usually) be launched from ashore, taking advantage of Norway's numerous islands and rugged coast. The Coastal Ranger Command has a strong focus on ISTAR, and train to fight asymmetrical enemy tactics. The Coastal Ranger Command have trained with allied forces, where their CB90 have been embarked from the HNLMS Rotterdam (L800) LPD and HMS Albion (L14). The Coastal Ranger Command was officially declared fully operational August 17. 2005. The autumn and winter 2005 will see their first international deployment, as a small number will be deployed to Afghanistan. Home base is at Trondenes, Harstad, northern Norway.