The purchase of MLRS was part of the big ideas of mobilization army, and especially 6. dvisjon, as the Army had in the 90s, before they fell to the ground in the 2000s.
After the cold war ended in 1995 mobilization army significantly reduced in number by removing most departments in Southern and Central Norway (except a brigade in southern Norway and in Trøndelag), when you said it no longer existed any invasion threat there, while you actually wanted to rearm in northern Norway, as one could not ignore the fact that Russia sometime in the future would be able to get willingness to invade Norway, but then would only have their attacks (at drop in major bond) Northern Norway. Officially it was said that we should have a defense against invasion of northern Norway and a defense against limited threats Trondelag (especially to defend Trondelag as a bridgehead for the insertion of US Marines) and Southern Norway.
During the Cold War had always been Brigades operative unit, each brigade was in 5000 - 5500 man and contained all the tactical and administrative support units were needed. Supplies would be collected from almost semi mobile supply station (higher level) of each brigade. Man had, especially in Troms with 6th Division, a structure of brigades, which could field guide and coordinate operations with several brigades, but it was in practice only a mobile headquarters leading independent brigades (and some artillery battalions that could be used for additional support), in particular was brigades independent logistics side.
One could say someone in the Army lost abdominal goal, one would introduce division (with 15,000 to 18,000 man) as a truly operative unit that was much more coordinated in terms of tactical and administrative support units, such as the great powers had (the slightly comical is that f. excl. USA largely has now gone from having division as the operational unit to have the brigade as it).
In the US Army earlier would example. a mechanized division have three brigade staffs, a number stridsvogn- and mechanized battalions (eg. 3 tank battalions and 6 mek. inf. battalions) an artillery regiment and other support agencies. Brigades would be totally flexible, in some cases, could operate with a clean tank brigade with every tank battalions, and two pure infantry brigades, or you could have three equal brigades, each with a tank battalion and two infantry battalions. There was no real sense of belonging to each brigade, it was decided by the vice president under the circumstances (terrain and enemy). Support departments would also be allocated to brigades as needed.
It was something like the Army would build up 6th Division in Troms in the late 90s. One would have three "tactical brigades" each consisting of management apparatus and three maneuver battalions. All support departments were the starting point centralized under division that distributed as required on brigades. Central under divisional management one should have an artillery regiment. This would have three 155 mm artillery battalions (each with 24 guns), each of which normally would support one of the three brigades, and a central resource, MLRS battalion, with two batteries, each with 6 MLRS. These 12 pieces MLRS was delivered 1997/1998, and cost 2.8 billion.
Besides training ammunition was (as far as I've read, it it is wrong) the only ammunition Norway acquired the German AT2, and in much smaller quantity than was believed one needed. There is a special antitank ammunition, every rocket spread out over a smaller area 28 tank mines, allowing a volley from a trolley thus spreading a minefield with 336 tank mines or a battery of six carriages 2016 pcs. (Shaped charge against the bottom of the bonnet Cart fired by an "antenna" that sticks up when it hit the bottom of a tank, and also of the magnetic field when a tank passes over, it will self-destruct after a preset time (maximum four days) ). MLRS in Norwegian service was thus intended primarily to stop the massive onslaught of enemy armor by immediately adding minefields 2000 tank mines in front of the enemy forces, the distance up to 39 km. Other possible munitions that could be interesting was the time of "cluster type" with great political resistance (and notoriously prohibited by treaty after 2008). In fact, there has been some resistance to AT2, in that it can be triggered also by upansrede vehicle and possible barriers zones butting with them, so it's a bit uncertain whether it can be regarded as a pure tank mine. Italy has destroyed its inventory of AT2 mines of political / ethical reasons.
In 2004, after the 6 years operational use was MLRS decommissioned (carts were stored in "mothballed") and it has not since been trained crews on them. I do not know if they ever stored under good conditions (something at least I've heard rumors), or if they are scrapped or sold.
The main reason why MLRS was decommissioned was well that 6th Division, and the whole idea that the Norwegian army would fight in Division staggered, fell to the ground like a rock in the early 2000s. The main thing was that Norway decided that Russia (I do not know if Russia has decided it, but it is certainly the conviction in the Norwegian political and military defense leadership that it will never happen) never ever (at least in any foreseeable future) will come before Troms with hundreds of tanks through Finland or at all try to invade Norway with other than small forces. Moreover, the price of equipment to equip a division much higher compared to the available money for land defense than they had imagined. After September 9, 2001, is no longer the enemy close to us, but far away, and to beat them with small professional forces on the other side of the globe. Apart from a mob-brigade were all mob departments of the Army brought down, and the last remaining was closed down a few years later (in 2007 I think). From having had (on paper at least) over 50 maneuver battalions (most mob battalions) was one down on having problems with maintaining wood.
So the demise of the 6th Division, the demise of mobilization army, the demise of a threat that large enemy armored forces were to attack Norway, as well as moral scruples that MLRS was an immoral weapon, was well crucial to inactivate them.
There've been a lot of development MLRS since 2004, with new types of ammunition, including with guided missiles.
