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Iceland Air Defence System
The Iceland Air Defence System ( is, Íslenska Loftvarnarkerfið) is a part of the Icelandic Coast Guard. It was founded in 1987 under the Radar Agency of the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs after an agreement between Iceland and the United States on the takeover by the Icelanders of the operation and maintenance of the radar stations of the Iceland Defense Force. Between 2009–2011, it was a part of the Icelandic Defence Agency (''Varnarmálastofnun Íslands''). It operates four radar complexes, a software and support facility as well as a command and report centre. , it does not independently possess any offensive capabilities, but is primarily used instead to monitor air traffic and direct allied interceptors based out of country. The four facilities are located at the four intercardinal points: * H-1 Miðnesheiði in the Reykjanes peninsula (south-west) * H-2 Gunnólfsvíkurfjall in the Langanes peninsula (nord-east) * H-3 Stokksnes near Höfn (south-east) * H-4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardinal Directions
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at 90 degree intervals in the clockwise direction. The ordinal directions (also called the intercardinal directions) are northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). The intermediate direction of every set of intercardinal and cardinal direction is called a secondary intercardinal direction. These eight shortest points in the compass rose shown to the right are: # West-northwest (WNW) # North-northwest (NNW) # North-northeast (NNE) # East-northeast (ENE) # East-southeast (ESE) # South-southeast (SSE) # South-southwest (SSW) # West-southwest (WSW) Points between the cardinal directions form the points of the compass. Arbitrary horizontal directions may be indicated by their azimuth angle value. Determination Ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelandic Air Policing
Icelandic Air Policing is a NATO operation conducted to patrol Iceland's airspace. As Iceland does not have an air force, in 2006 it requested that its NATO allies periodically deploy fighter aircraft to Keflavik Air Base to provide protection of its airspace. The first deployment of aircraft took place in May 2008. Background As Iceland does not maintain an air force, the country was left without means to patrol its airspace when the United States Air Force (USAF) ceased deploying fighter units to Keflavik Air Base in September 2006, and the U.S. Iceland Defense Force was withdrawn. Following the American withdrawal Russian Air Force 37th Air Army aircraft entered Icelandic airspace on several occasions. Prime Minister Geir Haarde requested that Iceland's NATO allies assume responsibility for protecting Iceland's airspace during the Riga Summit in November 2006. The North Atlantic Council agreed to this request at its July 2007 meeting. The other NATO member states who lack th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Of Iceland
Iceland's defence forces consist of the Icelandic Coast Guard, which patrols Icelandic waters and monitors its airspace, and other services such as the National Commissioner's National Security and Special Forces Units. Iceland maintains no standing army, the only NATO member for which this is the case. The Coast Guard consists of three ships and four aircraft and armed with small arms, naval artillery, and air defence radar stations. The Coast Guard also maintains the Iceland Air Defence System, formerly part of the disestablished Defence Agency, which conducts surveillance from the ground of Iceland's air space. Additionally, there is a Crisis Response Unit (ICRU), operated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which is a small peacekeeping force that has been deployed internationally, since 2008. This unit also has an unarmed component. There is a treaty with the United States, which until 2006 maintained the Naval Air Station Keflavik, regarding the defence of Iceland. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Straumnes Air Station
Latrar Air Station (ADC/NATO ID: H-4), also known as Straumnes Air Station, is a former United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station, located at the top of Mount Straumnes and in the bay of Aðalvík, Hornstrandir. The site was operated by the 934th Aircraft Control and Warning (later Air Defense, Later Air Control) Squadron, and was equipped with AN/FPS-3, AN/FPS-8 and AN/FPS-4 radars. History Construction of the air station started in 1953 in and the started operations in 1956. After only being in operation for four years, a decision was made to close the site in 1960 due to high operation costs and the last air force and civilian staff left the following year. In 1962, the Icelandic government took over ownership of the remaining buildings. The Greenland, Iceland and United Kingdom air defense sector, better known as the GIUK gap, was routinely utilized by the Soviet Union's long-range heavy bombers and maritime reconnaissance platforms as a transit point toward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westfjords
The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of Iceland by a seven-kilometre-wide isthmus between Gilsfjörður and Bitrufjörður . The Westfjords are very mountainous; the coastline is heavily indented by dozens of fjords surrounded by steep hills. These indentations make roads very circuitous and communications by land difficult. In addition many of the roads are closed by ice and snow for several months of the year. The Vestfjarðagöng road tunnel from 1996 has improved that situation. The cliffs at Látrabjarg comprise the longest bird cliff in the northern Atlantic Ocean and are at the westernmost point in Iceland. The Drangajökull glacier is located in the north of the peninsula and is the fifth-largest of the country, but the only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolungarvík
Bolungarvík (, regionally also ) is a small town and the only built-up area in the municipality of Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður in the northwest of Iceland, located on the Westfjords peninsula, approximately from the town of Ísafjörður and from the capital city Reykjavík. Bolungarvík is close to abundant fishing grounds and has been used as an outpost for fishing since the 17th century, making it one of the earliest in Iceland. The village was not accessible by road until 1950, and in 2010 the Bolungarvíkurgöng tunnel was opened under the Óshlíð mountain to bypass the old road, which was frequently subject to avalanches and rock falls. Tourist sites include the Ósvör Maritime Museum, featuring a restored 19th-century fishing hut, a natural history museum, which houses taxidermied animals including a polar bear and the biggest bird collection in Iceland, and an indoor swimming pool with outdoor hot tubs and a water slide. Skálavík bay can be reached by a gravel road f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolafjall Radar Station
Bolafjall Radar Station (NATO ID: H-4) is an Icelandic General Surveillance Radar station and part of the Iceland Air Defence System. It is located atop on Bolafjall near the town of Bolungarvik. It is operated by the Icelandic Coast Guard under the joint direction of NATO as part of the Icelandic Air Policing. History The station was established as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) radar station in January 1992, with its construction cost paid by the NATO Infrastructure Fund. While the United States Air Force paid for its operational expenses, it was operated by the Radar Agency (Icelandic: ''Ratsjárstofnun'') with civilian staff. The mission of the station was to intercept and shadow all Soviet aircraft in transit in and from the GIUK gap which passed through the detection range of its radars and relay to the NAS Keflavik Radar Operations Control Center (ROCC). In 2006, the United States withdrew its military units from Iceland, leaving the radar station fully in Ic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Höfn
Höfn () or Höfn í Hornafirði () is an Icelandic fishing town in the southeastern part of the country. It lies near Hornafjörður fjord. The town, the second largest in the southeastern part of Iceland, offers scenic views of Vatnajökull (the largest ice cap in Europe by volume). The community was formerly known as Hornafjarðarbær between 1994 and 1998. Geography Höfn is located on a peninsula in the southeast of Iceland. The name Höfn means harbour and it is a fishing port surrounded on three sides by the sea, with beaches on a long shoreline to the southeast. Shoals and glacial rivers traverse this area with many shifting lagoons and sand reefs being formed. Höfn is surrounded by several small islands to the east of the town, the largest of which is Mikley , followed by Krókalátur and Hellir . Nearby areas include Suðursveit (the birthplace of Þórbergur Þórðarson), Öræfasveit, Lón , Mýrar and Nes . In Nes there is a small village called Nesjahv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stokksnes
Stokksnes () is a headland on the southeastern Icelandic coast, near Hofn and Hornafjördur. Stokksnes is located south of Kastarárfjall mountain, and includes Vestrahorn mountain, which was featured in the Bollywood film '' Dilwale''. The H-3 Radar Station Stokksnes is located at the tip of the headland. The Iceland Air Defence System uses the station to monitor Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...'s airspace. References Headlands of Iceland Black sand beaches {{Iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Langanes
Langanes () is a peninsula in northeast Iceland. The name literally means "long peninsula". It is long from southwest to northeast, ending in a thin strip of land called Fontur (regionally also ) where there is also a suggestive lighthouse called Langanesviti . It is bounded by Þistilfjörður to the northwest and Bakkaflói to the southeast, while the terrain inland reaches elevations of 200–450 metres (600–1200 feet). The highest point is Gunnólfsvíkurfjall in the southeast of the peninsula, at 719 m. The peninsula is composed of late Pliocene-early Pleistocene lavas. Kistufjall (444 m) is the distinctive tuya (table mountain) volcano that resulted from subglacial eruptions. Administratively, Langanes forms part of the Langanesbyggð municipality (population 480 in 2008). Virtually all of the population live in the village of Þórshöfn (Thorshofn) on the northwestern coast, which has a small airport. Sauðanes , just to the north of Þórshöfn, has an ancient churc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunnólfsvíkurfjall
Langanes () is a peninsula in northeast Iceland. The name literally means "long peninsula". It is long from southwest to northeast, ending in a thin strip of land called Fontur (regionally also ) where there is also a suggestive lighthouse called Langanesviti . It is bounded by Þistilfjörður to the northwest and Bakkaflói to the southeast, while the terrain inland reaches elevations of 200–450 metres (600–1200 feet). The highest point is Gunnólfsvíkurfjall in the southeast of the peninsula, at 719 m. The peninsula is composed of late Pliocene-early Pleistocene lavas. Kistufjall (444 m) is the distinctive tuya (table mountain) volcano that resulted from subglacial eruptions. Administratively, Langanes forms part of the Langanesbyggð municipality (population 480 in 2008). Virtually all of the population live in the village of Þórshöfn (Thorshofn) on the northwestern coast, which has a small airport. Sauðanes , just to the north of Þórshöfn, has an ancient churc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
