An ally took control of live bombs dropped by US Air Force planes. That's never been done before.

Business Insider

12 hours ago

The US Air Force recently allowed another country to take control of American bombs in flight for the first time, with F-15 Strike Eagle pilots passing control of their glide bombs over to Norwegian forces.
The Norwegian Armed Forces announced the successful weapons test last week, describing it as a test of networked weapons, "weapons you can communicate with after they're fired," that delivered a "groundbreaking" result.
"For the first time, the Americans have allowed another country to take control of an American bomb on its way to the target," the armed forces said.
The Norwegians said that two US Air Force F-15E fighter jets flew toward Norway's coast with two American GBU-53/B glide bombs in the exercise, called Jotun Strike.
Using data provided by various sensors, including those on a deployed P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, Norwegian soldiers took control of the bombs when they dropped and used a network to direct them toward targets they had selected. With the data support, the soldiers adjusted the bomb's course.
Chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces' Operational Headquarters, Vice Adm. Rune Andersen, called the result of the test key to Norway maintaining a "technological lead." He added that the test highlighted the "good relationship" between the US and Norway, saying that the test was "based on a high degree of trust and integration between close allies."
Capt. Brett Stell, from the 494th Fighter Squadron, US Air Force, explained that the recent exercise was "a demonstration of what warfighting looks like in the future."
It proved that "a weapon launched from a US platform can be guided by a Norwegian sensor across domains and distances," he said, adding that "this level of integration shows our shared ability to conduct complex, network-enabled engagements-even in contested environments."
The unprecedented exercise was not just about Europe, "it's about homeland defense forward," Stell said.
"Threats to the US can originate beyond the Western Hemisphere, and our forward capabilities in the European theater are essential for early warning, rapid response, and deterrence," he said, explaining that "exercises like Jotun Strike make our collective force more lethal, more integrated, and ready to fight and win together."
A new kind of weapons test
Network-enabled weapons are ones that can be guided and redirected as they fly using communications networks.
The armed forces said that "via a built-in radio transmitter, military personnel can communicate with the weapon after it has been fired, change its course, change the target it is going to attack, and await or abort an attack. All based on updates they receive in real time."
The concept tested last month was developed in Norway with Norwegian industry, the armed forces said. Specifically, the Norwegian Battle Lab & Experimentation had been working on its concept for network weapons since 2019, with a 2025 deadline.
NOBLE is a group in the Norwegian Armed Forces that is affiliated with the operational headquarters and tasked with concept development and experimentation for the military.
Its network weapons concept had only previously been tested in simulations, and Col. Roger Samuelsen, the head of NOBLE, said "this was the big test."
He said that "it was fantastic that this worked."
"It is the first time this weapon has been released in a live version. And it was also the first time someone from the Norwegian Armed Forces tested a live network weapon."
The test took place on May 14 at Andøya, a large island in Norway's northwest.
The system had already been tested in the US against other simulators, Samuelsen said. He said Norway was repeatedly told it was ahead of others on this technology and that he believed that was why the US wanted to provide weapons and planes for this test.
He added that he was "very excited to see if the software we have developed would work as intended, even though we have done all the preparations and tests that were possible in advance."
He said the outcome means Norway "now can both plan, lead, coordinate and carry out an engagement with network weapons."
Network weapons can get real-time data from external sensors, making them more likely to hit their targets. And they can be made to change course after they are fired.
The Norwegian Armed Forces said the network weapons have "increased range and safety" since they don't need to see the target. Instead, they can be launched from further away and controlled, so they "can be fired at a safe distance without the platform supplying the weapon having to expose itself."
It also means the target can be changed depending on what's happening and what the military wants to hit.
The technology is key for Norway, a smaller country that needs to use its resources efficiently and make the most of recent acquisitions like the P-8 and F-35 fighter jets, but there's also interest from allies.
Samuelsen said that people who work in "concept development in NATO have already shown interest in the Norwegian concept." And he said allies are interested in the control software that it has developed with Norwegian software company Teleplan.
"There are not many nations that have this weapon or the technology within reach," the armed forces said.