Vidsel () is a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

situated in

Älvsbyn Municipality Älvsbyn Municipality () is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Älvsbyn. The present municipality has the same size as the original one, created at the time the municipalities of Sweden were formed i ...

, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 533 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated about 900 km north of Stockholm, Sweden, in the Arctic Circle.

History

Perhaps its earliest history is as a seasonal settlement, but permanent inhabitants have lived here since the 19th century. The town was mainly founded in the 1950s, because of "Robotförsöksplats Norr" (RFN) (Missile Test Area North)/ Vidsel Test Range. The range forms part of the

Swedish Defence Materiel Administration The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration ( sv, Försvarets materielverk, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It ...

(FMV) Testing Directorate, which is responsible for the verification of systems procured for the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

. RFN is the largest overland test range in Western Europe, consisting of 1,650 km² of uninhabited forest and marshland, which can be extended by 1,500 km² if required. The installation includes a military base with a 2,300 m runway. Because of its usage as a Swedish and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an missile test site, this remote area is often listed in international weather forecasts and maps. The site has been a test area for most Swedish flight developments, including Draken, Viggen and

Gripen The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (; English: ''griffin'') is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stabilit ...

References

External links

North European Aerospace Test range

FMV
Populated places in Älvsbyn Municipality Norrbotten {{Norrbotten-geo-stub