In the heart of Norway’s military aviation hub, Ørland Air Base, a hidden threat from World War II lay dormant beneath the runway. As F-35 fighter jets launch and land daily, legacy explosives embedded by the German forces more than 80 years ago still posed a very real risk. In late 2023, Steer AS was called in with a modern solution to a historical problem.
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During the German occupation of Norway, Nazi forces expanded Ørland Air Base and installed large quantities of explosives beneath the runway—strategically spaced every 150 meters. These charges were designed to be remotely detonated to deny use of the airfield in case of an Allied invasion.
Fast forward to recent times: while a contractor was performing runway renovations involving mass replacement and resurfacing, these long-buried explosives were uncovered. The charges, partially crystallized with age, had become dangerously unstable—triggerable by even minor vibrations.
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After assessing the threat, the Norwegian Armed Forces’ Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team and the Defense Estates Agency (Forsvarsbygg) determined it was too hazardous to operate machinery with a human inside. The answer? A Caterpillar 325 excavator equipped with Steer’s advanced remote-control system.
Our team retrofitted the machine in just three days. Soon after, it was operational—controlled from several hundred meters away and, in some cases, from more than 1.5 kilometers. The connection was maintained wirelessly over WiFi, with rock-solid stability and responsiveness. Steer’s system delivers millimeter-precision handling with near-zero latency in both video feed and command execution, ensuring full control even in the most delicate operations.
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The remote-operated excavator was used to carefully remove concrete and expose the explosives. Once revealed, EOD teams safely collected and transported the charges to secure locations for disposal. Over a few weeks in November and December 2023, despite challenging conditions including snow, freezing rain, and high winds, the operation was completed without a single technical failure.
Our system remained 100% reliable—delivering uninterrupted safety and performance when it mattered most.
The success at Ørland led directly to a new mission: clearing unexploded ordnance at the Haltdalen training grounds, ahead of joint winter exercises involving Ukrainian and American forces. The same Steer solution was used to prepare the terrain safely and efficiently.
