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04 Oct 2021

Underwater Warfare Exhibition is now open

Finland’s less known naval defence history is displayed in Forssa: Forum Marinum Maritime Centre has opened the Underwater Warfare Exhibition at DA-Group’s headquarters in Forssa.The Minister of Defence of Finland, Mr. Antti Kaikkonen, inaugurated the exhibition today, October 4th, 2021.

Finland has over a hundred-year experience in underwater warfare, its threats and development of defence methods. The Forum Marinum Foundation has a vast collection of underwater warfare items dating back from the time before Finland’s independence all the way to the present day. This unique material has, until now, been stored in challenging conditions with a limited public access. 


Photo: The Minister of Defence of Finland Antti Kaikkonen cutting the ribbon. DA-Group's CEO Sami Kotiniemi on the left and Forum Marinum's Managing Director Tapio Maijala on the right.
Photo curtesy: Forum Marinum, Jorma Kontio.

The cooperation between Forum Marinum, being also the host of the Finnish Navy Museum, and DA-Group enables to establish the exhibition based on museum collection. The objective of the project is two-fold: to display this unique material and to preserve it in appropriate conditions.

Forum Marinum will manage and maintain the Underwater Warfare Exhibition. Guided tours of the Exhibition will be organized by Forum Marinum. Public open houses will also be offered.

DA-Group provides a home for Finnish sea mine heritage

The comprehensive underwater warfare museum material being transferred to Forssa was previously housed in the Finnish Defence Forces’ underground storage facilities located in Pansio of the Turku area. The core element of the collection consists of over 80 naval mine items, originating in a collection of underwater warfare equipment put together by the Navy for training purposes since the 1920s. The Pansio naval mine collection was assembled in 1996 based on the initiative of Commander (ret.) Eero Auvinen as well as with the support of the Navy and individual sponsors. 

The off-site exhibition in Pansio also consisted of previously preserved equipment, which was used in the Navy’s operations, such as mine detection and sweeping equipment, diver operations devices, various torpedoes as well as materials related to torpedo development and warfare.

Until 2019, the Finnish Defence Forces has carried the storage costs of the collection, and Forum Marinum has been responsible of its management with the mandate of the Military Museum of Finland. After the Finnish Defence Forces’ release of the underground storage facilities in Pansio, Forum Marinum has been seeking for the solution to preserve the special collection. DA-Group in Forssa became the collaborator.

Significant part of Finland’s naval defence history is now available to public

- We seemed to be faced only with poor alternatives, but now the cooperation with DA-Group enables the preservation and showcasing of the special underwater warfare material. In my opinion, this is culturally a very important achievement, states Tapio Maijala, Forum Marinum’s Managing Director.

- We are excited about this opportunity to offer the premises for this internationally unique exhibition. DA-Group has operated in the defence sector for almost two decades, and the company has provided demanding electronics and mechanics for sea mines. In the Exhibition, we are able to present also some equipment designed and manufactured by DA-Group, such as target detection devices for naval mines. Hosting the Exhibition in our premises is a natural continuum of what we do and where we want be involved in, says Sami Kotiniemi, CEO of DA-Group. 

More information:

Photo material: http://www.forum-marinum.fi/fi/info/kuvapankki/

 

The Forum Marinum Maritime Centre, based in Turku, is a Finnish national specialist museum for Maritime History and the museum of the Finnish Navy Museum. Along with museum activities, Forum Marinum offers versatile services for creating maritime events, meetings and training opportunities. A high-quality restaurant and unique event facilities make Forum Marinum also into a popular venue for conferences and festive occasions.

The Maritime Centre is administered by the Forum Marinum Foundation, established in 1998. The Foundation’s objective is to maintain and preserve the maritime cultural heritage of the coastal areas of southwestern Finland, the Archipelago Sea and the Baltic Sea. Forum Marinum is a member of the Finnish Museums Association, the Trafiikki Museums Association, the ICOM (International Council of Museums) and the ICMM (International Council of Maritime Museums). http://www.forum-marinum.fi/en/ 

DA-Group is a provider of advanced electronics and high technology solutions and products. We serve industrial, defence and space sector customers on a global scale. We are experts in embedded software solutions, electronics, mechanics and underwater dominance, sea mines, naval expert services as well as RF, microwave and millimeter wave engineering. Our service portfolio covers the turnkey solutions: from R&T, product development and engineering, testing and validation, manufacturing to product lifecycle management. Established in 1995, DA-Group employs over 140 professionals. The headquarters are located in Forssa with offices in Helsinki, Oulu, Tampere and Turku.
www.da-group.com
 
DA-Group is specialized in underwater warfare, including sea mines, embedded naval technology, underwater surveillance systems, target detection electronics, minesweeping and degaussing devices. Our expert services include underwater explosion analysis; and simulations programs related to the signature management. DA-Group provides life-cycle support and maintenance of its equipment and solutions.

TURSO is the most modern naval minelaying system. Sea mines and other components are modular and customizable for specific customer requirements and operational needs, whether planning for new mines or modernizing of old systems. TURSO naval minelaying systems are safe and highly effective in all operational environments, making it ideal for new capabilities or upgrading existing systems with state-of-the-art intelligence and performance. 

 

 

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